Three Weeks
by SomebodyWhoLovesThings
Summary: Iida manages to squeeze Uraraka into a deal to force her to ask out her crush in three weeks. But will she be able to overcome her fears? Rated T for some swearing and suggestive themes. Dekuraka. NOTE: This departs from the main lore into its own story around Ep. 61 (Anime) / Chapter 117-121 (Manga).
1. One Condition

**Hey all, this is an A/N. Keep in mind this is AU after the Deku Bakugo fight, so the events won't line up with what's happening in the anime/manga.**

 **That's really all I needed to say. Enjoy even if it's not that great (hopefully it's okay :P)**

\- POV - Ochako -

It was Saturday, Deku's last day of house arrest had finished yesterday. He was finally going to come out and say hi to me and Iida. _I know it was only three days, but I still missed him throughout the week. I hope he'll be fine when coming back to school and he won't be too behind._

Iida and I had begun walking to Deku's room. "Are you excited to see Deku again, Iida?" I held back a smile, trying not to look too excited.

"Izuku was only under house arrest for three days, Uraraka." Iida looked at me strangely.

"Y-Yeah... well..."

"And we saw him yesterday while he was cleaning around the building."

"I-I know, but this time we'll be able to actually hang out with him!" Iida gave me a thinker's expression. _Was something off about my behavior? Does he think something's up?_

We'd arrived at his room. We stood in front of the door awkwardly for a bit. "Well, are you gonna knock on the door, Uraraka?" I didn't want to personally in case I'd wake him up, but it wasn't a huge deal. I'm sure he'd be fine to waking up to Iida and I.

 _But what if he's been staying up late studying and working out? I know he's trying to work ahead of the pack and doesn't like being left behind. He could've been up all night, and I don't think that's uncharacteristic of him. I'm not sure if I should-_

"Uraraka, you must be taking a lot from Deku."

"W-What was that?"

"You're muttering to yourself just like he is. Just go ahead and open the door, it'll be fine. If we weren't allowed to do this, then I, as class representative, would have already objected!"

"Just like you objected to helping retrieve Bakugo?"

Iida was silenced after that. I liked Iida... n-not in that way! I like Iida, but he is a bit demanding sometimes. He may seem like a goody-two-shoes, but like the rest of us, he follows the rules when they deem fit. He sometimes breaks them for the sake of others.

But anyways, I went up to the door and took a deep breath. _Calm down, you got this!_ I knocked lightly. "Deku, are you in there?" He went quiet, there was no response. Iida didn't say anything, so I decided to knock again.

"Deku, good morning! Iida and I came down to say hi this morning!" I heard some movement now.

"Hi, Uraraka! I'll be out in a moment." _That was easier than expected. Iida's being unusually quiet, however._ I took some deep breaths. My social anxiety is really bad now for some reason; though it doesn't act up around others.

I turned around to look at Iida, looking away from the door. "He's awa-" _He's gone! Iida left!_ "I-Iida? Where are you?"

I walked down the hallway a bit and checked my surroundings. I couldn't see him anywhere. "Iida?" I heard the door behind me open, and Deku was dressed and ready. He looked like he was ready to go and train more. _Dang, he meant a "moment" when he said a "moment", huh? How does he do his hair that quickly?_

"Hi, Uraraka! Where's Iida?" I turned around and saw Deku. I suddenly hugged him, unaware of what I was doing myself.

"I missed you, Deku! Don't ever go under house arrest again!" I let him go and looked at his face. I was going to tell him that I didn't know where Iida went but he looked a bit dazed. "Is s-something wrong?"

"N... No! I'm f-fine!" He looked a bit embarrassed, and his face was pink. _Did I really just..._ _Oh geez._

Aoyama's words started to ring in my head again. " _Is it... because you like him?"_ My face started to grow warmer and I didn't say anything. This wasn't good. _Argh... dammit Uraraka! Calm down! Just act natu-_

I didn't have time to think much. My face grew beet red, and I covered my cheeks with my hands."I... I-I need to find Iida! B-Be right back!"

"Wait, Uraraka!" I ran away with my hands over my face.

"I-I'll see you again today! I'm not l-leaving you!" I ran back, and a tear ran down my eye. _I'm an idiot. Why did I let that happen? Now things are weird... and I still need to find I-_

Iida popped up behind me. He was in his room, and I had unknowingly run to it. He was grinning slightly as if he had seen something humorous. His smile disappeared when he saw my face.

"Uraraka, are you alright?" I was getting frustrated.

"Why did you leave me alone with him! You're the class representative! Y-You know I'm not supposed to be out without a friend or par-"

"Firstly, you had Midoriya with you. Secondly, I was testing something." I gasped. _Was he... watching us? Did he think it was funny?_ "You like Izuku, do you?"

My face turned red again. "Iida! Now is not the time! We need to go and say hello to-"

"Stop avoiding the question, Uraraka!" He sounded very commanding. My eyes widened at his shout and I nodded my head slowly. "Good. Now that you've admitted it, we can start to get somewhere."

"G-Get somewhere? Iida, I don't think he likes me back. This isn't going to happen."

"I'm sorry for leaving you behind. I was testing to see how you interacted with him alone. And as expected, you got embarrassed and ran off." My facial expression turned from embarrassed to a bit insulted. "Not that that's bad, of course! It's only natural for you to be afraid around the one you ha-"

"Shh! Can we talk about this somewhere else? Maybe another day? For now, how about BOTH of us go and say hi to Deku."

Iida looked pensive for a bit. Then he looked back to me. "I'll go with you under one condition, and I won't state it until you comply. Do you trust me?"

I hesitated. _"Don't do it, Uraraka. He'll trick you into doing something you don't want to do."_ That was one side of me. The other thought: _"This is Iida, your best friend in U.A. along with Deku! We can trust him. And after all, the whole point was to say hello to Deku."_

I decided to go with the conclusion that the former was the devil on my shoulder and the latter was the angel, though neither were completely evil or good. "O... Okay. I comply."

"Uraraka, you have to ask out Midoriya within three weeks of today's date!"

My face flushed. It was worse than when Mei Hatsume was over Izuku. _I... I didn't think it would be that bad! Damnit, Iida!_ "W... What?!"

"You agreed! Now let's go say hi to Deku!" Iida grabbed my arm and dragged me (unwillingly) towards the hallway where Deku's room was.

"Iida, you're a snake! I'm not voting for you next year if we're in the same class!"


	2. Day 1: Pillar

**Hey all, another A/N. I'm writing this on my phone using the FanFiction app, but it's a bit buggy. All of the text is centered.**

 **(This issue has been corrected. Sorry for those who had to deal with it :P)**

 **Anyways, enjoy! :)**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 1 of 21**

 **Saturday**

\- POV - Izuku -

 _Ah, drat. Did I make it weird? Was me coming back really that big of a deal?_ I mean, it's true that house arrest sucked, but I saw Ochako yesterday. It's not like I went to another school and ditched everybody. _Even so, I've never been hugged by a girl before..._

I blushed at my own thoughts. _I really wish that I could shut myself up sometimes._ I went back into my room to warm up some food for breakfast and do my morning regiment. Being able to handle one for all comes at a cost.

About twenty minutes later, I was had finished half of my exercises and eaten some breakfast. I heard just _slightly_ some talking behind my door. _What?_

I looked through the peephole and I saw Iida and Uraraka, chatting about something. I could have been nosy and decided to try to listen through the door, but they weren't talking loud enough. Uraraka seemed to have kept on saying "Shh!".

"Hmph. Maybe I'll just wait for them to knock." I started walking back to my bed until they almost immediately knocked on my door. _Oh._ I opened my door. "Hey, what's up?"

"Good morning, Midoriya," Iida stated firmly. "Uraraka and I were going to say hello but I had to leave for a bit. Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine." _Why would you go to knock on someone's door and then leave? Maybe he forgot something in his room, or what?_

Uraraka didn't seem as embarrassed as she previously did, so I decided to let it go. Her, Iida and I are best friends anyways, so I didn't think anything weird had happened. It was just a bit uncomfortable.

However, she _might've_ looked like she was... on edge? I don't know how to describe it. It might be her or it might be me seeing things. I'm not sure.

"Deku, what all did you do when you weren't cleaning?" asked Uraraka. She started to seem like her bubbly self again.

"Well, not too fun. I did my usual regiments and did some self-study online." Class 1-A wasn't the only class I had. U.A. was still high school, so I had other academic classes. Notably, I struggled with Algebra I.

"Do you feel behind at all, Midoriya?" asked Iida, sounding a bit worried.

I scratched the back of my head. "Not more than I usually am..." I nervously laughed.

"At least you got a break from school."

"Yeah, I really could've used it. Wasn't the most fun thing in the world, though." _You don't say!_ "So, do you guys want to do anything this morning?"

Iida and Uraraka thought for a bit. Uraraka came up with an idea. "Would you want to go see a movie later today?" _Sounds interesting._

"Hmm... uh... sure!"

Iida had another idea. "We could go bowling too, that's another option." _Bowling or quirk bowling?_

"Uh... that's a good idea too." I wasn't extremely excited for either option.

"Deku? Do you not want to do either of them?"

"N-No, that's not it!" I explained. "You see... I...I'm not really used to..."

"What is it, Midoriya?" asked Iida.

"I don't do... leisure... activities... that often."

"Leisure activities? You mean you've never gone bowling before?"

"No, I have. I'm just... I'm not used to going out and doing things like that too often."

"Really?" Uraraka stated with curiosity. "Why not?"

"Well, I'm always busy with school and stuff, or I'm doing my regiments, or studying, or doing research on recent heroes and villains, or-"

"Deku, come on! You mean you've never had fun?"

"O-Of course I have! You guys are cool, it's fun hanging out with you. But I've never seen a movie, or went on a bowling night, or done anything like that in... how long... probably over a year now?"

"Okay, that's it. You're choosing what we do." Iida said. "If you haven't gone out and had a night to hang out with friends in over a year, then we're letting you pick."

"T-Thank you!" _Hmm... let's see._ "Iida, when you mentioned bowling, did you mean quirk bowling or regular bowling?"

"Well, either one's fine with me. How about you, Uraraka?"

"I'm fine with either. I love quirk bowling! I like being able to pick a super heavy ball and use my quirk so that I don't need to work hard to hold it!"

"Quirk bowling it is!" I was very excited. I've never gone quirk bowling before, and now that I can actually control my quirk, I think it'd be cool.

Iida noticed how pumped I was. "Midoriya, may I ask why this captivates you so much? Have you ever gone quirk bowling?"

"Well, actually no-"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT?" Iida and Uraraka's jaws dropped. They were totally caught off guard.

"Deku, you'd be amazing! How come you've never done it before? With a quirk like that, you could throw the ball with the power of a car!"

The truth is that I'm so excited because I've never had a quirk. Quirk bowling was something I LOVED watching on television. It wasn't an All Might-tier of obsession, but I loved watching it.

Now that I had the opportunity, I finally felt like everybody else. It made me extremely excited to try quirk bowling. "When do you want to go, guys?"

"Any time for me," said Uraraka. "I'm free all day. I don't really have anything to do."

"Same here," said Iida. "Would 3:00 o'clock be a good time?"

"Yeah. So, meet at my room at 3:00."

"Gotcha!" said Uraraka excitedly. She seemed almost as happy as I was, though I don't know why. She's gone quirk bowling before; that's a must for almost anyone who has a quirk.

"Okay, Midoriya. See you guys there!"

I beamed and waved from behind my door. "Bye, guys! Thanks for checking up on me!" I closed the door.

So how quirk bowling works is that it is, for the most part, regular bowling. But the pins are MUCH farther away, and we have the ability to use our quirks.

There are multiple events. An average bowling lane is around 60 feet long, so the distances vary depending on what event you enter.

There's the regular 60 feet (which is just normal bowling), 90 feet, 120 feet, and other multiples. There are even events with 600 feet, which is so far that binoculars are provided for accurate aiming.

Only those with super powerful quirks will make it that far. Those with quirks like Bakugo's, Kirishima's, Iida's, or All Might's, where they can shoot or throw the ball very far.

Yes, I said Iida. The rules are a bit different too. There are more pins depending on the distance, and you can also throw or kick the ball if the distance is higher than 150 feet.

Alright, I'll stop babbling and get ready for the bowling. I'm just super excited.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Iida -

I'm honestly a bit surprised that Uraraka doesn't think Deku likes him. I mean, I'm not completely sure of it either, but I'm pretty certain that he's at least thought about it.

The entire "Deku" persona came from Bakugo, but Uraraka was the one who made it a positive name for him. He accepted it _way_ too quickly too.

At the time I wasn't sure if he was just desperate for a friend or if he liked her, but either way, here we are. I don't really call people by their hero names, hence me calling him "Midoriya" or "Izuku" still. But Uraraka calling him "Deku" is only fitting.

My train of thought was interrupted by a phone call. I checked the time; a few hours had passed and it was 2:30 PM. It was Uraraka.

I answered the phone. "Get ready to go to Midoriya's room, Uraraka!"

"Yeah, I know. But I have a... uh... I have a question... for you..." She sounded nervous, maybe a bit embarrassed.

"Alright. What is it?"

"You know how you're a class ahead in math, right?"

"Yeah. I'm in Geometry." Izuku and Uraraka (as well as the rest of the class besides a few like Momo) were in Algebra I. But I took that in my final year of middle school.

"You know how Deku's worst subject is math?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that he was struggling when we went to his room earlier."

"Well... I was thinking that I... I want... well no, I don't want to. But I think I-"

"I think I know what you're getting at. Can I guess?"

"S-Sure."

"You want to help Deku with math so you can get a chance to ask him out without being in front of others, correct?"

A pause happened. "N... N-No! That's... that's..." _Checkmate._ "... Yeah. That's what I was going to ask."

"I'm fine with that. I won't tutor him if you want to so you can have some alone time with him."

"S-Stop it! I... I want to help!"

"Hey, be glad I'm not making fun of you, Uraraka."

"Fine... thanks, Iida. I'll talk to him about it sometime."

"Do it tonight."

I could hear Uraraka lightly gasp over the phone. "No! I... I've already-"

"You need to learn to talk to him if you want to tutor him. Remember that I saw you ran off this morning; you need to learn to not storm off every time you feel nervous, as difficult as it can be."

A pause happened. "You are good at this kind of things, Iida. Who'd you end up with to get this kind of experience? Do you like anyone?"

My face turned slightly pink. "I'm going to get ready to leave." I heard her laugh over the phone. "See you there."

"Bye! Thank you, Iida!"

I got ready to go and headed off to Midoriya's room. I took a detour and walked for a bit to burn some time because I still had twenty minutes.

 _That question Uraraka asked me made me feel... off... to say the least._ I've never actually had a girlfriend. And I haven't had that many crushes. Nor have I been too nervous to talk to girls like Midoriya.

I think I was always so focused on my goal of becoming a hero that romance just sort of came past me. There are girls that I find "attractive", or that I think they'd make a good partner. But that's about it.

As I walked, I starting thinking about the girls here at U.A. Really, I don't _like_ anyone there.

There's Uraraka, of course. And she's my best friend here alongside Izuku. But she doesn't come off as someone who would like me. And even so, she feels like a little sister to me almost. It'd be weird if we dated.

Most of the other girls here at U.A. I don't know that well or only acquainted with under certain circumstances. Mina is a bit obsessed with romance at times. Asui's a pretty great student, but I haven't really talked to her. Hagakure and Jirou I haven't talked too much either.

There is Mei Hatsume from the support course, though I don't like how she used me in a sense at the sports festival. I was extremely mad at the time, but in the end, it all worked out. For now, I remain cautious of her.

Momo is... well... Momo. If I had to date someone here it'd honestly probably be her. I like the way she thinks, she's pretty, and she's very determined. She almost reminds me of Izuku in that sense. Uraraka has imitated him too. Momo did get in through recommendations, and she did for a reason.

All this thinking was starting to get to me. _Geez, it's just hypotheticals, Iida. Cool it._ Suddenly, I looked up and bumped my face right into a street lamp. "Are you okay?"

I looked up, and it was Momo Yaoyorozu. _Ah, crap. Right after these thoughts?_ "Yeah, I think I'm fine." I sniffled and lightly blushed. _Great time to be spotted, huh?_

Yaoyorozu started to create something. She gave me a white handkerchief. "Your nose is bleeding. You should really watch where you're going."

"Wait, is it really?" I lightly wiped my below my nose with my hand, and I looked at it. Turns out, there was a stream of blood. It wasn't too much to my luck. _Huh. At least I didn't break my nose._ "Thanks, Yaoyorozu."

"What were you doing anyway?"

"I was just thinking, and I sort of spaced out."

Momo smiled and laughed lightly. "I didn't think you'd be the clumsy type, Iida!" _I'm really not, I was just a bit distracted..._ "What were you thinking about?"

My face actually turned red. Darker than it had been in a long time. "U-Uh... it was nothing! I... I need to go to Midoriya's room!" I abruptly left the scene. "Goodbye!"

"Later," she said, giving me a peace sign. _That was an unfortunate scenario_...

 **(Transition Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I had gotten to Midoriya's room a bit early. I was planning to talk to him alone for a bit, but I was a bit... intimidated by the thought. When I got to the door, I waited for Iida.

The door opened without me knocking on it. Deku looked at me. "Hey, you're here early!" He beamed at me. _He looks so happy... he's so..._

I stopped myself before my thoughts embarrassed myself. "Yeah! I got a bit bored, sorry."

"No problem, I enjoy hanging around you and Iida. Do you want to come inside while you wait?"

 _Wait, did I really get here that early?_ "Wait, what time is it?" Deku turned around and looked at his clock.

"About 2:30." I gawked. _Oh dear... I didn't think I was THAT early!_

"Oh, sorry! I didn't think I'd be here this early!"

"That's fine. Do you want to wait inside or outside?" I decided to go into his room. _This is it. Now's the time to get used to talking to him alone!_

I looked around the room and all the figures of All Might. I saw all the memorabilia and smiled. _His determination and admiration are very honorable._

I turned to look towards Deku, and his face was beet red. "Uraraka... this is..." _He didn't think twice about letting me come in, did he?_

I turned back around to the All Might trophies. "Deku, I like this." Suddenly, my brain started to leave and my heart took over. I didn't think too much about what I was saying... I just let it out.

"R... Really? What about it."

"It's cute." Deku's cheeks became pink. "And it's very inspirational. I can tell by the way you act that you take after All Might. And Bakugo as well. It's very..." I had trouble coming up with a word. "The way you do these things... you're very... amazing."

 _That's the same word I used at the sports festival._ I heard a sniffle. "Uraraka... are you saying that you... you're trying to take after me in some ways?"

I smiled. "Yes, Deku. I can tell you'll make a great hero someday. You'll be as big as All Might!" I turned around and Deku didn't look happy. He was looking away from me. And he was nearly crying. "Deku?"

"I'm sorry..."

"About what?"

"You keep doing this to me and I don't like it, Uraraka."

I started to become my nervous and awkward self again. _Uh oh, does he know?_ "W-What am I doing?"

"I... I've never helped you. Not for the sports festival, not for the cavalry battle, and the one time I tried you were being imitated by Camie."

I gasped quietly. "Deku, that's-"

"Uraraka, you keep coming to me and encouraging me and congratulating me and building me up. But so far, what have I done for you?" He turned around and looked at me. Tears were streaming down his face. _It takes boldness to show your emotions like that... this must have been weighing down on him._

"Deku..." He was sitting on his bed, and he looked down. I sat next to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "You served as a pillar for me. You're an example for me. And I know you're not perfect, but you help me too. Even if it's indirect."

After that, I let Deku release his emotions for a bit. He just laid with his head down for probably just a few minutes. I put my hand on his shoulder. _Me a few hours ago would probably be gone by now..._

He eventually looked up at me. He wasn't crying anymore, but his eyes were a bit red. He smiled. And then he did something I wasn't expecting.

He hugged me. "I'm sorry for not returning it this morning, but thank you."

My face's redness wasn't seen by Deku, but I'm glad.


	3. Day 2: Flashbacks

**SomebodyWhoLovesThings here! Just wanted to say I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter!**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 2 - Sunday**

\- POV - Deku -

I sat in my bed for a long time last night. I kept thinking thoughts that I knew I shouldn't be thinking. _I should've asked her to go find Iida... why am I such an idiot?_

The quirk bowling last night was a success. It allowed me to practice controlling One For All more effectively. But now, I feel terrible whenever I hang around Iida and Uraraka.

 _Why does the generational passing-on of One For All have to be a secret?_ I know why. It's only logical. But Uraraka... man... I hate hiding things from her. And Iida too. I'm afraid I'll come off as suspicious to them.

 ***flashback***

"Alright, Izuku! It's your turn to bowl!" I looked down the lane. We had decided to go for a 150-foot lane. _Oh dear... this is my first time!_

Uraraka sensed me questioning my own capabilities. "Your quirk is amazing, Deku! You can do this!"

I turned to look at her face. "We're not competing, are we?"

"No, no! This is just for fun. Ask me if you need help!"

"Well, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Should I just bowl normally? Can I do other things, like throw or kick it?" _I know the answer already._ I was just afraid of flopping it in front of them because I've never done this before.

I actually wasn't afraid of overexerting myself. I was more afraid of flopping and having them suspect me of only recently getting my quirk.

"Yeah, Deku. We chose the 150-foot lane for Iida, so he could kick the ball, and you, so you could experiment."

"O-Okay." I walked up and grabbed my ball. It was a bit hefty, but it was over twice what I used the last time I went quirk- er... regular bowling. It was light as a marble when I coursed One For All through my arm.

I coursed the raw power through my hands. "Delaware..." And right when I was about to throw it...

"DEKU!"

"SMASH!" Uraraka touched the ball as it left my hand just barely. It flew an extremely off angle across the entire room and bounced off the wall like it was made of rubber, almost hitting someone. They looked back at me disapprovingly. "S-Sorry!"

"Deku, what are you doing?"

"Me? What are you doing? How'd you make the ball do that?"

"I modified the gravitational properties of it. But anyways, what the heck are you doing?"

I blushed furiously. _Please tell me they won't think I'm a beginner with my quirk..._ "I... I don't know. I must have misjudged."

"Here, let me help." Iida got the ball back for me, and she got a lighter ball (of the same size) and helped demonstrate what to do.

"Hold the ball like this, and throw it straight. If you want to get a strike, aim for the middle arrow, not the pins." _I remember that vaguely._

I tried to mimic her motions, but she wasn't content. She analyzed my fingering positions. "D-Deku, you don't even have the right fingers in the fingering slots!"

I blushed harder. "A-Ah! Good point!" I fixed that and practiced with her a bit more. "Thanks, Uraraka. And thank you for getting the ball, Iida."

"No problem," they said in conjunction.

I tried again, and this time I had gotten a strike. The tons of pins were knocked over like dominos. I heard the two applause for me. And then later, I heard others in the background.

Later when we got out of the building and started walking back to our dorm building, my fingers felt weird.

I looked down to find that they were badly blistered. _This isn't physical strain; this is my skin not being used to this._ Thank goodness it wasn't actually broken fingers.

Iida seemed to notice me checking out my hand. "Midoriya! Are your fingers broken?!"

"No, Iida. They're fine."

Uraraka grabbed my attention. "Hey, about that, why couldn't you control your quirk until recently?"

I gawked. _They finally noticed? I was hoping they'd forget about it..._ "W-What? I've been able to control my quirk for a long time? It was s-since I was young!"

"Deku, most people get their powers when they are eight at the latest. And your power is physically wearing down your body. Did that happen when you were younger?"

My face turned pale. _Oh no... All Might... what do I do?_ I was going to start muttering an explanation when Iida added in, "Well, that makes sense. Did you only recently want to become a hero? Wasn't that a goal you've wanted since you were little though?"

 ***flashback ends***

In the end, I didn't really say anything. I diverted the topic. It was a fun day, but now there's a lot of undue stress on me. I couldn't possibly tell All Might, what would he say about this?

He'd probably be mad at me. In fact, the consequences of that action just happened with Bakugo. I can't let anybody know about this. Even if they're my best friends.

I looked at the clock. It was still pretty early to wake up on a weekend, about 6:45 AM. I threw the covers back over my head. _I'm sorry..._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I awoke to find myself laying reverse in my bed, with my feet on my pillow and my face on the end of my bed. _How in the... Oh yeah._ I had fallen asleep last night deep in thought.

I didn't manage to ask Deku if I could be his tutor yesterday, nor did I even ask if he needed a tutor. He'd probably be fine on his own; he'd just go to All Might or Aizawa if he needed help.

But I need to get him to let me tutor him myself. Though Iida said that he'd exhaust himself as an option if necessary and claim he was busy.

 _Why can I talk to a boy and teach him how to bowl, but I can't call him on the phone and ask if he needs help on something. Maybe I could text him...?_

I kept thinking on about it. Deku's an early bird, but it was 9:30 AM. I didn't really want to risk calling him in the morning. He'd think I'm weird.

This whole ordeal is uncharacteristic of me. I've never cared what other people thought of now, here I am, worrying about a boy's thoughts on me.

 _"Is it... because you like him?"_ Aoyama's words rang in my had. _Frankly, yes it is._ My face turned bright red and I blushed furiously. _Nobody's here! Chillax, Uraraka!_

The bell to my door rang. "AHHHH!" _I guess I was wrong._ I took a short moment to calm down then answered the door. "Iida, what are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you! It's about Midoriya!" Iida sounded like some sort of royal messenger.

"A-Ah... don't say it so loudly... Mina will hear you... and the others... and-" Iida walked into my room and quickly shut the door, interrupting me. _I would normally be offended but he seems convicted to do something._

"URARAKA!"

"W-WHAT?" _He's scaring me!_

"Why didn't you ask Midoriya to be his tutor like I told you to?"

I sighed. _All that drama for this?_ "You're not my dad, Iida... stop thinking you're in charge of me."

"Uraraka, you've got three weeks! You have a deadline and you need to use your time wisely?"

"Or what?" An awkward silence happened. "What will you do if I don't ask out Deku on a date in three weeks?"

Another pause happened in between. "It's only a matter of time before he finds out with the way you're acting, Uraraka. The only person who can control when he finds out is you."

 _As much as I hate admitting it, he's not wrong. My feelings for Deku have become a borderline problem._ "Iida, how do you suggest I practice?"

"Have you talked to anybody else about this?"

"No! I don't really trust anyone else about this... especially not most of the girls..."

" _Most_ of the girls?"

"Well... some of them seem trustworthy. But I still wouldn't want to tell them."

"If you don't mind me asking, who in particular?"

"Well, Momo seems very sophisticated. And I bet she knows her way with boys."

"There's a reason Mineta perves over her the most."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Well, it's her or Asui. They are his usual victims." My expression became more repugnant than usual. "What's wrong?"

"Let's not talk about Mineta..." _He commented on my body multiple times..._

"Oh, I'm sorry. Anyways, anybody else?"

"Hagakure and Jirou seem alright, but I don't really trust them. And Mina I'd NEVER tell."

"Why not Mina?"

I sighed.

 ***flashback***

"Oh, is it Midoriya or Iida; you're always hanging out with those two boys!"

"You've got it all wrong! That's not it, I swear!"

"She's floating!"

"Which one? Or is it someone else? Come on, spill!"

 ***flashback ends***

Iida looked slightly flushed. "They thought it was me?"

"Y-Yes, but you know that's not it!"

"Oh, I do. Let's move back on track again."

"Y-Yeah. Thanks."

"So, is there anyone else that you'd talk to, girl or boy?"

"As for girls, I can really only think of Asui. But for guys that I'd talk to... hm..."

I started thinking about how some of them would react. I first envisioned Aoyama.

 _"Ha! I was right! But why wasn't it... me?"_

Agh, no. I don't know why I even thought of him. What about Bakugo, or 'Kacchan'? He knew Deku for a long time.

 _"W... WHAT? DEKU? THAT DAMN USELESS NERD?"_ I imagined him running off. _"HEY, DEKU! HOW DID YOU MANAGE TO-"_

No, no, no, no! "Any of the guys come to mind, Uraraka?"

"Ah... no. The only guys at this school I talk to a lot are you and Deku, and Lord knows I can't talk to him about him himself."

"I see. So that makes Momo, Tsu and I?"

"We're not making a 'Deku Conference', Iida!"

"I know, I just wanted to know in case you wanted me to try to talk to them."

"What?"

"Specifically in Momo's case. I know you'd probably have trouble telling her this, but if you really trust her then I'd be able to get the message through. I'm sure that you'd be able to tell Tsu, though."

 _Spot on._ "What's the big deal with this anyway?"

"You don't need to exclusively come to me with this. There are probably better people to talk to."

"Why?"

"Well, if Bakugo would talk to you, he probably knows a lot about Midoriya." _I think he'd kill me._ "And a girl like Momo probably knows how to get guys better than I do."

"Alright. Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, when are you going to ask Midoriya if you can be his math tutor?"

"I need to know if he actually needs one..."

"Ask him!"

"You say that like it's easy!"

"It is once you get used to talking to him. You were able to talk to him naturally at bowling, why is this so spastic?"

I thought about it for a bit. _Hm. I have no idea._


	4. Day 3: Safely Held

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!**

 **I have some very important disclaimers to make before I continue on with the FanFiction.**

 **SYKE! I really have one.**

 **I have no idea what the fourth season holds and I haven't read the manga (sue me), so the third years coming in and the extra hero work programs are not going to be covered yet.**

 **My bad!**

 **But I still hope you can enjoy**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 3 of 21**

 **Monday**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I had gotten back into class today, and Deku and Bakugo were finally with us. Their house arrests have finished their... "sentence". Deku's finished two days ago, and Bakugo's finished yesterday on Sunday.

We had gotten back into class. I looked over at Deku. He was already prepared. His notebook was out, he was ready to take notes, and he seemed 100% focused. _A person like him shouldn't need a math tutor... he's such a good student..._

My trance was interrupted by All Might bursting into our homeroom. He laughed heartily. "I AM HERE!" I paid full attention immediately. _What are we doing today?_

All Might immediately went back into his scrawnier looking form, coughing up a bit of blood. _Oh dear..._ "All Might, don't push yourself. The students already know," said Aizawa.

"All right, listen up!" All Might was weaker, but still as convicting and intimidating a speaker as ever. "Aizawa and I noticed over the exam that we haven't gone over the proper ways to save people are yet!"

Todoroki looked a bit embarrassed. Bakugo, on edge as always, stood up for a second. "IS THAT A CALLOU-" Kirishima grabbed his shoulder and pushed him down back into his chair. _That's the first time I've seen someone calm down Bakugo._

"No, Young Bakugo. Not everyone has passed, but we all only learned the proper procedure as we moved on. Most of us adapted accordingly and did this correctly."

"Correct," Mr. Aizawa said. "There is no point system, so the people from the Help Us Company will only do what you tell them to do. We will be observing to grade you on this."

"Are there any questions?" All Might asked.

Deku raised his hand. _Good at paying attention, like always._ I was staring at Deku again; this was a habit I had only recently developed. After a while, I realized what I was doing and felt embarrassed at myself. "A-Ah!" _Stop it, me!_

"Are you alright, Young Uraraka?"

"Y-Yes! I'm fine! C-Can you repeat what you said?"

"Oh, that's fine. Young Midoriya just asked if this was a test grade, and the answer is no." _Whew!_ "This will be a test grade in the future, but for now, it is only classwork and will be graded, but it won't affect your grade. Take notes on what we tell you to do for proper saving, and practice your techniques!"

"Additionally, we have one more announcement," said Aizawa. "Since All Might's quirk has run dry, we will need someone to be able to watch over the students and save them if needed. We have selected Momo Yaoyorozu due to having the highest score on the second phase of the Provisional Hero Exam."

The whole class turned to look at her, and she blushed. "W-What?"

"Young Yaoyorozu, if you do not want to do this, then we can have a volunteer do it. But know that you won't have to do this on test day."

"O-Oh, okay. I'm fine with this."

"Okay, are we all ready?"

"Yes, All Might!" shouted the class.

"Let's go! Plus Ultra!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Momo -

I led the class into walking down to the place where we'd be saving those from the Help Us Company. It was at the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, like most of our practices and activities.

Mr. Aizawa leaned over and whispered into my ear. "Don't think that you're exempt from hearing criticism from us. You're going to work too."

"Yes sir!"

"Also," added in All Might, "you might be working a bit more than expecting."

"How so, All Might?"

"You see, we have some traps set in place near where those in need of saving are. The students will definitely fall in at least one."

"W-WHAT?!"

"Sh..." said Mr. Aizawa. "Don't worry. If you can't save them, we still have set up some emergency procedures so that the students won't get hurt. But keep this a secret."

"W-Why are you doing this?"

"We need to make sure the students are prepared to both save and be able to adapt to the scenario. You will be tested on that as well, although it is a bit more lenient because you won't fall into any traps. We figured this was all right due to your high test score, however."

"O... Okay." I was a bit critical of his methods, but I could see where he was coming from. All Might has said that a true hero can always break out of a tough spot, so it's necessary that we are put in them for practice.

We walked further down the hallways to get to the Unforeseen Simulation Center, and I spotted Present Mic walking down the hallway to the place we were going. _I wonder what he's doing._

When we got there, Present Mic was standing next to Aizawa. "All right, everybody!" he shouted. "We are going to divide you all into groups! The groups will be in pairs besides one group of three, and you will work together!"

 _Alright, here it comes!_ The list was put on a large screen. "Here is the list!"

Group List:

Group 1: Denki Kaminari, Eijiro Kirishima, Hanta Sero

Group 2: Izuku Midoriya, Shoto Todoroki

Group 3: Tenya Iida, Ochaco Uraraka

Group 4: Minoru Mineta, Tsuyu Asui

Group 5: Koji Koda, Kyoka Jiro

Group 6: Katsuki Bakugo, Fumikage Tokoyami

Group 7: Rikido Sato, Mashirao Ojiro

Group 8: Toru Hagakure, Mezo Shoji

"Those are the pairs that you all will be working in! Each has been reviewed by Eraser Head, All Might, and I. We have chosen based off of teamwork abilities, compatibility, and others. You will be working in different pairs when the exam comes up!"

 _I'm particularly interested in the Bakugo Tokoyami pairing. I'm pretty sure they did that on purpose to see if Bakugo could refrain from weakening Dark Shadow during their saving._

"That is all, good luck everyone!"

I sort of eavesdropped in between the conversations between the pairs. I didn't tune in to the first group, because I knew it'd be about the "bros being together" or something like that.

Bakugo and Tokoyami were opposites; certainly incompatible. Bakugo was furious, but Tokoyami was laid back after finding out the pairing.

Midoriya and Todoroki was a pairing that I wasn't surprised to see. I was expecting Midoriya to either be paired with Iida, Uraraka, or Todoroki. Maybe Bakugo if Present Mic wanted to watch someone die.

I saw Iida and Uraraka arguing about something, and I unintentionally overheard some of their conversations.

"I don't understand what you dislike about this, Iida."

"This would've been a perfect opportunity for you to ask him, Uraraka! Now we'll have to wait until the weekend."

"No, there's plenty of other times we could try and ask him about it. Maybe lunch tomorrow?" _Are they talking about Midoriya?_

I decided to butt in. "Are you guys talking about Izuku?"

They both turned their heads. Uraraka's cheeks turned pink and she immediately looked away. "No, no! You've got it all wrong! It's not like-"

"I wasn't assuming anything, don't worry."

"Momo, do you think you get what's happening or should I fill you in?"

"I... Iida!"

"No, I think I'm fine. I'll see you guys later when we start our practice."

 _Welp, if it's between Iida and Midoriya, I think we have our answer pretty solidly._ I couldn't help but be curious about what they wanted to tell Izuku.

 _Is it a confession?_ I can't really see Uraraka confessing like that though. She seems a bit too... awkward? Yeah, that's the right word.

Iida seems pretty confident and well-spoken, plus he's really intelligent. I could see why she'd come to him about this.

The groups went off and started to save those in the Help Us Company. Luckily, the groups weren't far apart, just working separately. So I was able to keep an eye on most of them at once in case they needed saving.

I had eaten a lot of food in preparation for this because I wanted to be sure I could create everything I needed to.

I checked all of the groups and their strengths in order to predict where they would be failing and how I could save them.

The trio group didn't have too many tricks up their sleeve. Kaminari could move heavy objects, and Sero could move around using the tape. I predict that Kaminari would be the one needing saving.

Midoriya and Todoroki were both ace students in the class, and they are very smart. Their biggest problems were that they were more individual and sometimes their quirks were a bit too powerful.

Iida and Ochaco were a perfect pair. I can't really see any whatsoever for the beginning. Iida's speed and Ochaco's Zero Gravity allows Iida to quickly transport anything of any weight, which allowed for great movement of victims, heavy obstructions, and etcetera.

Mineta and Asui were mainly based around mobility, with Asui being able to jump around and Mineta being able to use his balls. Asui even used her tongue to put the balls on her tongue and attach multiple victims to her tongue for mass transport. I feel that because we're not around water, Asui may need saving sooner or later.

 _Most of these teams are working together better than I expected. I wonder if this was planned out by All Might, Aizawa and Present Mic specifically._

Koda and Jirou were also very good together. While there weren't many large animals around, Jirou was able to amplify Koda's voice to call many insects to reach insects in places they couldn't get to themselves.

Tokoyami and Bakugo were the first "problem" pair. Tokoyami will probably need saving soon because Bakugo could accidentally deactivate Dark Shadow. So I kept an eye on Tokoyami.

Sato in group 7 I worried about more than Ojiro. Ojiro's tail isn't as strong as Sato's sugar rush, but the cognitive defects could lead to him falling into a trap more easily.

And I have no clue how I'm going to keep track of Hagakure. I've got to keep my eyes trained on her uniform and hope she doesn't take it off, otherwise, I'm finished.

I scanned the area, looking for traps and possible ways that the teams could need saving. Mei Hatsume had given me some support items so that I could maneuver around faster and find people in need.

I zoomed in to look at group 1. They were lifting rubble to help a crushed victim, and a large rock was hoisted on Kirishima's back. "I got it!" He held the victim in one arm and the rock in the other.

But little did he know, picking up that rock, a piece of wall with a rugged surface started falling. _Only his arms are hardened, and unless he hardens his whole body in time, he'll get scraped terribly._

 _The teachers probably knew they'd use Kirishima's power and put this in place. It's either a test of Kirishima's reaction time or a test of mine. We'll see who gets it first._

"KIRISHIMA! DITCH THE ROCK!" Shouted Sero. He threw it to the side where nobody could get hurt. "Take this and turn around!" I told him. I created a shield and gave it to him. The wall fell on the shield, and that took all the pressure.

Kirishima put down the victim and Sero scooped him up. He ducked. "Brace yourself, Kirishima!" He turned around swiftly, holding the shield with both hands.

The jagged surface scratched the shield like crazy, but I'd rather that then gash Kirishima's skin. It held the surface until Kirishima moved it out of the way.

Sero crawled out from under, careful not to hit his or the victim's head, and took the victim to the teacher. "Thanks, Momo!"

"Just doing my job. Where's Kaminari?"

"He went inside the building to save someone inside!" The building that had broken into pieces was still standing, but it was on fire, and some walls and foundation had been removed.

"Oh, for Pete's sake!" I did a scan of the other teams, and they seemed to be doing fine. I rushed inside the building.

I used the mobility tools Hatsume had given me to scan the windows. _Is he an idiot without using his quirk? Why would he go in here alone?_ I scanned the building and found him.

He was in the computer lab. There were puddles everywhere, and computers were crashed and broken on the floor. I opened the window. "What are you doing?!"

"I can't pick up the victim without shocking her! My body's resistant to the electricity, but hers is not."

"Search the area for a wooden tool!" Kaminari searched the lab while I went to the victim. "We'll get you out of here, just don't step in any water! Stand still!"

"O-Okay..." _Kaminari, you better have checked the condition of the victim before I came here, otherwise, we'll lose points with Mr. Aizawa._

"There's no wooden objects! Not even any desks!"

 _This is a test of my quirk! They removed the desks so that they could see if I could come up with a way to save her!_ I needed to create wood, make sure it didn't catch on fire and make a plan so Kaminari could get out of the building and save her.

I wasn't allowed to directly save people unless they were students. I could help them, or I could save them if need be. But the saving of victims was for everyone else.

I created a pair of gloves. "Put these on."

"Okay?" I crashed the window and created a wooden platform and some rope. "Kaminari, what's wrong with the victim?"

"She broke all of her fingers on both hands when a desktop fell onto her fingers." _Good. Her legs and arms are fine._

"Victim, lay on this platform! We'll get you out of here!" The victim did so accordingly. We tied up the victim on the platform by the window by her legs, torso, and arms. We made sure her fingers weren't put under pressure.

"Momo, what are you planning to do?"

"Stand on the platform, with your feet beside the victim!" I tied his feet to the platform as tight as I could. I was a very good knottier. "Grab onto the electric wire and hold on. You're ziplining to the next building!"

"Momo, that idea won't work!"

"Trust me!" Kaminari slid down the wire. I used the gloves to protect his hands from the friction, which would have cut his hands open. The electricity was fine on its own.

He made it to the other building, and I went to the middle of the saving ground after that save. "Thanks, Momo!" I heard in the distance as I was leaving.

 _It's miraculous that line held up... and the slope of the wire wasn't fast enough for the impact to hurt the victim. We got really lucky..._

I got a few more saves, but those were the only real notable ones that I had gotten. I scanned the area and found more students in trouble.

Most of the "traps" were very subtle. Subtle to the point I barely realized they were traps. The teachers must have had some help from Principal Nezu. I have no idea how they could predict the students' actions and scenarios so perfectly.

There was really only one more save that was extremely notable, but it wasn't my save. In fact, it was the only save from somebody else.

After getting a save on Group 7, I heard explosions from behind me. _Bakugo?!_ Bakugo was trying to blow his way through a wall to get through to a victim.

"Bakugo, you need to be more careful! The person could be injured!"

"Shut up! How else do we get through? Why aren't you helping?"

"I would have probably used Dark Shadow by now, but he's afraid of the light you're giving off."

Little did Bakugo know, that on the other side of the wall was Iida and Uraraka. The voice was a fake. It was a test designed to fake out those like Bakugo, and it worked perfectly, creating an unexpected scenario for Group 6 and group 3.

"Iida! The rubble from the explosion is going to fly out and fall on someone below the building!"

"I'll evacuate those on this floor. You focus on trying to lighten the impact of the explosion!"

Iida had gotten those on the floor and dashed out, while Uraraka used damaged parts of the room to barricade the wall. She eventually tried holding them there with her Zero Gravity. She was pushing hard against it.

Eventually, the explosion happened. "Uraraka!" I watched. _She'll use her Zero Gravity and save herself. I know it._ But she started falling! _What?_

 _Oh, I know what happened._ Uraraka is still holding onto the rubble from the explosion. It floated in the air as she fell. But she couldn't save herself because she knew that if she dropped the rubble that someone could get hurt. _She thinks I am gonna save her! What can I do?_

I created binoculars and looked at where she was in the sky. I could determine where she would land. I then started to try to create pillows, but only two came out.

My stomach churned. _Uh oh! Don't tell me I've run out of ammo! How am I going to save Uraraka! The teachers couldn't have possibly planned this out! This was because of a students' actions!_

I felt a harsh wind blow over me. I looked up and she was gone. _What the?_ I searched around with my binoculars to find them. I couldn't see them. After a while, the rubble started falling, so I took cover.

When it was over, I eventually spotted where they were at. Midoriya's was slightly illuminating with red lines, almost like arteries, glowing from his legs.

 _He powered up... and he caught her from mid-air? Did he jump from somewhere else?_ He was holding Uraraka bridal-style, and when he put her down, she immediately turned around and covered her face. She then ran away, seemingly embarrassed.

"TIMES UP! PRACTICE IS OVER!" shouted Present Mic.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

I saw Uraraka falling. _Why isn't she saving herself with her quirk? This isn't Camie, is it?_ But I looked up and saw that rubble was oddly floating. _What the?! She's sacrificing herself for a bunch of useless rubble!_

I looked down and looked for Momo, who should be saving her. She was creating stuff, but she suddenly stopped. _Uh oh... did she run out of lipids?_ Uraraka was falling, and there was nobody to help.

 _All Might... I wish you were still able to help._ But he still was. He was still able to help. Through me. I knew that she could die if I didn't do something.

"Pros are always risking their lives! That's the mark of a TRUE hero!" I coursed One for All through my legs. I was going to jump to the next building and save her, even if it meant sacrificing my legs.

 _It won't explode, it won't explode, it won't explode, it won't explode, it won't explode..._ "OCHACO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as my legs propelled my body into the air.

I flew past the rubble and time seemed to slow down when I was near her. She was falling with her back first. _My legs... they don't hurt! I can still land!_

I caught her mid-air, holding her I held Asui when I caught her with her injured legs. _Ah... focus on the landing! I still need to put energy into to not break my legs on the impact. I could drop Ochaco!_

"One for All..." my legs felt more energy being flowed into. "SMASH!" I kept the burst of energy short to not break through the ceiling of the building I landed on. I dented it, but it was still intact.

My legs ached, but they weren't broken. My breath was heavy. I was panting. "D... Deku? What happened!?"

I didn't realize I was still holding Uraraka. "U-Uh... Uraraka! Are you alright?" I looked at her, and she looked back in awe. I tried to hold back my blush, and it worked a bit. I had almost forgotten how beautiful she was. _Wait... did I just?!_

"I-I was just falling... did you... teleport me?" _Oh, how long did that actually take? Time seemed to have slowed down for me._

"I... I saw you from o-over there... and I jumped..."

"You... you jumped...?" Uraraka put her hand on my cheek. "Your... your face is warm..." She seemed tired.

I blushed harder. _W-What is she doing? Why is she..._ I turned around for a second, and she was still holding the rubble up. _That's why!_ I looked, and nobody was there. "Release it, Uraraka! Nobody will get hurt!"

"... Release..." All the rubble dropped, and she fell asleep.

"Uraraka... this isn't the time to sleep." No answer. "Uraraka?" I shook her, as I was still holding her. Her eyes cracked open. They then widened, and she jumped out of my arms.

She looked me up and down, and focused on my legs for a split second. She then ran away, covering her cheeks. "S-S-Sorry, Dekuuuuuu!"

"U-Uraraka! Are you okay!" I started chasing her down. "Urara-"

"TIMES UP! PRACTICE IS OVER!"


	5. Day 4: The Cost

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!**

 **Okay, so I did a proofreading and grammar check of all my prior chapters and fixed the centering issue.**

 **OH MY GOSH THE TYPOS GALORE AND MIXED UP WORDS WERE TOO MANY I'M SO SORRY**

 **That'll teach me to write fanfictions at midnight on an iPhone app with no spellcheck or proofreads.**

 **I'm not normally that bad of a writer; I just didn't put much thought into it. I won't let this happen again lol.**

 **For those of you who didn't see the first four chapters before I checked them, be glad.**

 **Now enjoy some (hopefully) QUALITY writing!**

 **(Transitional Thing Lol)**

 **Day 4 of 21**

 **Tuesday**

\- POV - Iida -

Yesterday after the practice, Uraraka went missing after the initial building accident with Bakugo and Tokoyami. I later found her in the bathroom.

She had gotten extremely sick. I think that she overexerted herself when she was trying to clear up the damage of the explosion. But I wasn't one hundred percent sure.

We always did intense activities (like the exercise yesterday) with at least one day in between, so we went over emergency and first aid protocol today to give us a break from using our quirks so intensely.

Additionally, I'm pretty sure people like Bakugo needed the help.

But anyways, Uraraka seemed like her normal self after that day. She was pretty chill in class. Occassionally she would get flustered if I noticed her looking at Midoriya, but that's become normal now that she's realized her feelings.

 _She still won't tell me what happened that day to make her feel so flustered..._ It was bugging me. _Did something happen with Izuku?_ Then an idea popped into my head. Yaoyorozu probably caught it.

She was across the classroom, so I couldn't pass her a note or anything. _Even if I was, as class representative, I can't allow such intolerable behavior on my behalf!_

After Aizawa had finished going over the notes for protocol and first aid, we headed to lunch. I went to Midoriya first to tell him I was going to talk to Yaoyorozu. "Hey, Midoriya!"

"Iida! I need to tell you something."

"Yes?"

"I'm not going to be eating with you and Uraraka today."

"What?" Uraraka had come from behind me. "Why not?" She looked a bit nervous. _Was it something to do with Midoriya or is this just her regular nerves?_

"I have to talk to a counselor about some things. I'll probably be back tomorrow."

"If you don't mind me asking, what about?" I asked.

"It's not information I can give out, I'm sorry." _Hmm... a bit suspicious. Midoriya doesn't seem like the kind to hide the truth, so it's probably not earth-shattering._

"Alright. See you tomorrow?"

"Yeah! Bye!"

"Bye!" Uraraka and I waved to Izuku as he walked down the hallway.

I would normally be glad I didn't have to leave Midoriya alone, but this made things trickier.

If Izuku wasn't with Uraraka, then she'd have nobody to sit with. _Maybe she could sit with Asui? Let's hope this can work._

"Hey, Uraraka. I have a question."

"Yes, Iida?"

"Could you sit with Tsu today? I have some things that I need to discuss with someone privately."

"Huh?" She looked puzzled. "That's fine, but why?"

"I need to talk to Momo Yaoyorozu about something." Uraraka kept looking at me. An evil grin slowly crept onto her face. "No, you know I don't mean it like that?"

"Do you now?" She winked at me. "Good luck!"

I slapped myself mentally. _I shouldn't have told her upfront who it was, but at least she's cool with it._ "Likewise..." She blushed as I left.

 _Got em'._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Momo -

I sat at a table further away from where everyone else was sitting. I brought my lunch out of my bag and started eating. Iida came back with a school lunch. "Heyo!"

"Hello, Yaoyorozu!" he stated with rigor, bowing down. _He is the reincarnation of a class representative through and through and it's a bit funny._

"What did you want to talk to me about? Oh, and by the way, nice job at the exercise yesterday. You were one of few I didn't need to worry about."

Iida gave me a thumbs up. "No problem. Did you have to save Uraraka?"

I stumbled there. _From the moment I saw, I think it's fair to say that she likes Izuku. But can I tell him that? I'm sure I could; he's a good friend of hers. But to be safe..._ "N-Nope! She was just fine yesterday!"

"That's what I expected to hear." I urked in response. _Does he already know?_

"W-What do you mean? She was very strong yesterday, and she withheld a lot of pressure with her quirk."

"I also expected you to say that." I stuttered again. _What's even here for? Am I answering or is he?_

"Iida, how did you know?"

"Listen, Uraraka's hiding something from me that happened yesterday, and I'm trying to help her."

"I'm listening." _His purpose at least seems disarming. Maybe I could give him a chance?_

"But she won't tell me what it is. And immediately after the practice, she looked extremely sick."

"Really? But couldn't that be just from her quirk?"

"The sickness probably is, but she's embarrassed and starts to blush whenever I ask her about it." I gulped. _He's onto me._ "I'm going to ask you a question. Will you answer me honestly?"

I hesitated. _Iida seems to have this locked down. His intent seems appropriate, and he takes his reputation as class representative very seriously. I don't think he'll use this information badly. But still, to be safe..._ "You have to promise me something."

"What is it, Yaoyorozu?"

"First off, you can call me Momo."

"Oh, okay."

"And secondly, you can't tell anybody, including your most trusted friends, about this. Alright?"

"Deal."

"Okay. Now ask your question."

"Did something happen during the practice yesterday between Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya?"

I paused. _Was it that easy?_ And then I smiled. "You're good." I told him everything that happened, though it wasn't much. In a nutshell: She floated the debris, Izuku saved her, and she ran away blushing.

"I'm sure you can infer something from the scenario and the night that you guys tried to pin down her feelings." _He knows about that?!_

"W-Wait! How did you know that happened? Did you snoop on us?" He blushed.

"No, no, no! Uraraka told me about it." _Good._

"So, Uraraka has a crush on Midoriya?"

He paused. "Yeah. I trust that you won't tell anybody."

"I won't." _I like him. He's a good friend, and by the amount of information he has, I can tell Uraraka trusts him a lot and has come to him for a lot of things._

"Additionally, I have another favor to ask of you."

"Is this regarding the same topic?"

"Yes, it is."

"I'm all ears." The lunch bell rang. It was time to head to our next class, which we didn't share. It was history.

"Drat. Should I get you at lunch next time?"

"Let me give you my number and call you tonight. Can we talk about it later tonight?"

Iida looked a bit surprised. "Uh, sure." I took his phone and put my contact in, then sent a text saying "Howdy" to ensure it came from his phone.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Iida!"

"Goodbye, Momo."

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

My mind kept trying to ignore the fact that according Iida, I had 17 days left to ask out Deku. _He's not being serious with me... *sigh*_

I can't keep lying to myself like this. Deku was always the nervous one around me, but now the tables have turned because I discovered my feelings.

This entire "deal" I "made" with Iida is going nowhere fast. _I need to make some progress. Some traction. A sense of stability._

My last class was over in fifteen minutes. It was Algebra I. If you were in the hero course, the other classes were shortened and stuffed into the last half of the day. The hero class took place the entirety of the first half and sometimes even more.

I have this class with Deku and I needed to ask him something, but Iida usually walks back to the dorms with us. I wanted to be alone with Deku.

I pulled out my phone and hid it under my desk. I texted Iida: "Hey, I know we didn't see each other at lunch today, but I'm going to do something. Don't walk home with Izuku, I need to ask him about the tutoring thing."

I sent the text and immediately stashed my phone back into my pocket. The teacher didn't notice. _Phew._

 _I just put myself into a scenario where I have to control myself and not run off, but I think I can do it._ I tried to pull myself together for the remainder of math class.

I took deep breaths, but my heart continued to speed up. _I can do this. I've done this multiple times before. Just pretend like you're not being forced to do this!_

 _Damnit, Iida..._

I looked back to the board. We were supposed to be factoring polynomials, which I could do in a snap. I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down the problem on the board.

(x2 6x - 40)

 _Let's see... x squared 6x - 40..._

 _-40 is -10 • 4..._

 _So that's (x - 10)..._

 _and... that leaves me with..._

 _(x - 10) • (x 4)?_

I double checked my work, and I did it correctly. _Perfect. Now I can focus on contemplating what to sa-_

"Class is over! Head back to your dormitories, and grab the homework sheet! See you all next Tuesday!" _Great timing._

I took a deep breath. _Let's do this._ "Deku! I need to talk to you!" I turned to his table, and he wasn't there. "Deku?"

I went outside to find Deku looking around the hallway. "Iida? Where are you?" _Perfect, he got the message._

"Deku, Iida had to go somewhere. He said he'd see us tomorrow or come hang out with us today if we wanted to later."

"Oh, did he text you?"

"Yeah!"

"So you were on your phone in class?"

I scratched my head. "Y-Yeah..."

"Did you finish the problem?"

"Yes! You're not my dad, Deku! Let's walk back already!" I was getting a bit annoyed, but it was hard to get mad at him. Because... well...

"W-What? You weren't paying attention during the lesson and you still got the question right?" I looked at him blankly. "Wow! I'm impressed!"

"Oh! Th... Thanks..." I started to turn pink. _No, no, no! Keep it together!_ "S-So, how did you do?"

He frowned. "I can't seem to get this one. I'll have to look at the homework when I get back." He started to walk away. I absent-mindedly stood still. "Are you going to your dorm, Uraraka?"

"O-Oh, yeah! I lost my train of thought for a second." _Darnit! Stop being an idiot, me!_ "I actually wanted to ask you something." _Here it goes..._

"What is it, Uraraka?" I gulped. _I can do this._

"Would it be cool if I..." I paused and held my hands behind my back nervously. "I... uh..."

"Are you alright? You look a bit hot. Are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine!" I blurted out. "I wanted to ask if I could help you with your math homework!" People in the hall turned and looked at me.

 _That was a bit loud, but certainly better than running off. That would've attracted more attention._

"Oh, uh, sure! I'd love your help, actually. Just... please don't make fun of my poor math skills..."

"Oh, you're a logical genius, Deku! I'm sure you aren't terrible at math! You just got lumped into the hero course, where all the classes are basically honors level."

He looked down, like he was disappointed. _He's really self conscious, isn't he._ I put my hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I could do this every day if I needed to. It's fun hanging out with you, Deku."

He looked up at me and smiled. "My dorm or yours?" I pondered for a bit.

"If it's okay, yours. I like all of the All Might figurines and posters across your room; it gives off an encouraging vibe." He blushed and elbowed me.

"Shut up!" he said with a flustered smile.

We started walking down the hallway. "I'm not joking!" _I... I did it?_

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

"Geez, Deku. You really were behind on math."

"I'm sorry, Uraraka! I took up two hours of your time!" I was extremely embarrassed, but I knew Uraraka wouldn't tell anybody.

"No, it's okay! And you're not bad, you're probably around average. It's just that the class is shoved into a short time period, so it's extremely accelerated and difficult."

"You don't need to comfort me, Uraraka. I'm bad at math." I looked up, and she looked mad.

"Stop it! On an overall intelligence scale, you're probably one of the smartest people I know! Especially as a hero! You just don't have that kind of passion for math, and that's okay."

 _Geez, she really is always on my side. I still feel like this is extremely one-sided. How can I be such a strong figure for her to look up to if I can barely scathe through my accelerated math class?_

"I took a lot of notes on everybody in this class and wrote out profiles on them. I even did so in middle school and elementary school. I just get bored by math."

Uraraka smiled. "That's fine. It's just your interests!"

"I've always wanted to be a hero. But that possibility had never opened up until recently."

Uraraka's smile turned into a more neutral perspective. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you only have the chance recently when you applied to U.A.?"

 _I can explain myself now._ You see, during lunch, I told All Might what happened at quirk bowling and he gave me a story to fake.

I don't like telling lies to people. The only people that I told the truth about my quirk are Bakugo and my mother. But it's a life that has to be lived for me to accomplish my dream.

I sighed. "You see, I've had my quirk since I was young."

"You did?"

"Yeah. And the question you brought up at bowling got to me. This is secret; you cannot tell anyone. Not even Iida." Uraraka nodded.

"My lips are sealed."

"Ever since I was young, I adored All Might."

Uraraka giggled. "Look at your room, Deku! And your outfit! I can tell!"

I smiled. "Yeah. But my quirk is similar to how I use it today. If I use it too hard, I'll become incapacitated or injured."

"Really? But why'd you wait so long to learn to use it?"

I paused. _I hate lying to you so much..._ "When I first used it, I was probably around five. It severely damaged my right arm and I was hospitalized. I swore out of fear that I'd never use my quirk again."

Uraraka's face looked sad. "And you decided to try again?"

"I found out about All Might. He encouraged me to continue my dream, and the year before I came here, I encountered him after the sludge villian incident."

"The one where Bakugo was taken hostage the first time?"

"Yeah. And he trained me to handle my quirk. It still injures me, but now my body has the capability to handle it."

Uraraka's face remained stagnant. She smiled, and a tear went down her eye.

"You can't tell anybody, Uraraka."

"I won't." She stood up and looked shaken. Her face looked red, and she started to lightly cry. I couldn't tell if she was being nervous or sad.

"Uraraka...?" She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. She cried on my shoulder.

"You'll become the greatest hero, Deku! I know it!"

This time, I wasn't embarrassed. I was overtaken with emotions. Anger, happiness, shock, but mostly sadness.

 _I hate to do this to you when you're like this, but..._ I pushed her off of me. I avoided looking her in the eye. "D-Deku?"

I pushed her out of my room and closed the door. She knocked on my door. "Deku? D-Did I make you feel uncomfortable?" I didn't respond. I couldn't talk. I was pouting.

She kept knocking. And saying that nickname. Over and over. Until finally she left. That was when the tears were finally let free.

 _I didn't deserve that. I don't deserve to be around her. That was the most fake thing I've ever done in my life.. I'm a living phony and nobody knows._

I started to cry. And it wasn't just normal tears. I couldn't stop. I couldn't talk, I couldn't take deep breaths, I couldn't do anything. All I could do was cry.

My mother called this kind of tears the "waterworks". I laid in my bed and covered my face. _Is this the cost of my dream? Is this the cost of having my power?_

 _Is this the cost of lying to someone I love?_


	6. Day 5: A Tad Off

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!**

 **So on the last chapter, I had written down a math equation, but I forgot that FanFiction doesn't allow certain types of symbols in the stories.**

 **Because I'm doing this on my phone mostly, I can't fix it until I can re-copy the story on a computer and re-write the problem out.**

 **Sorry. I haven't written a blog since my Verapollo one in a while.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all can enjoy!**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 5 of 21**

 **Wednesday**

\- POV - Deku -

I walked down the hallway to the Hero Class in the morning, prepared for another intensive practice day. _Why did I have to confuse and alienate Uraraka yesterday..._

I am extremely frustrated. I feel like now I have to explain why my crying fit happened, and I'll probably have to lie to cover that up as well.

Once again, I haven't told or intentionally hinted to anybody that I had acquired my quirk and that I wasn't born with it. The only people who I did tell were Bakugo and my mother.

(A/N: a reviewer noted something in the last chapter, and to respond, I know. Neither the manga or the anime have a scene where Inko Midoriya was told about One For All. I'm aware, but I added this in myself.)

I'll have to explain this to Iida as well, which I don't know if that's going to make me feel any better. I'm going to summarize the story so I feel like I'm lying less.

I arrived at the classroom early, and I saw most of everyone there. I walked up to Uraraka's desk. "Hey, I want to apologize for shutting you out last night."

"A-Ah! D-Deku!"

"Shh!" I said. I looked around, and everyone else were in groups, chatting. "I want to explain this and tell you something."

"Okay..." I got in close. _Hmm... normally I'd be nervous about this closeness. But the gravity of the situation makes it less difficult._

It seemed that the roles had been reversed. Uraraka looked extremelt uncomfortable. "Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... go on."

"When you hugged me last night... it reminded me of when my mother hugged me one time."

"W-When...?"

I paused. _Maybe I don't have to lie._ "When I was young, I watched the viral video of All Might saving people from a fire over and over and over again."

"Oh, I know which one that was."

"And when I watched it later on, I asked my mother: 'Can I be a hero too?' And she hugged me, bawling her eyes out."

Uraraka's face looked sad again, but she maintained self-control. "I'm s-sorry..."

"Please don't mention these things to anyone. Not even do I want to be reminded if possible. Okay?"

I looked at her face, and she was staring into my eyes. The look was very neutral. She smiled. "Okay." 

I could still see the pity in her eyes as I went to my seat.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Iida -

Momo had called me last night. It was the first time I had gotten a girl's number, and the first time I've called one too. In fact, I've never dated. So I'll admit I was a nervous wreck at first.

But anyways, she asked me what it was about.

 ***flashback***

"Hey, Iida. What did you want to ask me about at lunch?"

"So, you know about Uraraka's crush on Midoriya, correct?"

"Right. I sort of found out at the incident that happened when I couldn't save her and Izuku stepped in."

"Yeah, about that... this is going to sound weird..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you dating anybody?"

I could practically hear the blood rushing to her face. "N-No, not now!"

"Have you ever dated somebody?"

"Y... Yeah. I've had a few boyfriends in middle school..."

"Perfect. I was expecting you'd say that."

"O-Oh, thanks." _Yeah, I totally sound like I'm hitting on her now. Keep it related to Uraraka._

"Uraraka is coming to me for almost everything, and while I can handle most of it, I really don't know the... behavioral side? I don't know how to describe it."

"So you're saying you want me to help her with her social stuff? Like how she acts, what she says and what make-up she wears?"

"Sort of. I already do a lot of things. I got her to help tutor him in math yesterday, I can encourage and reassure her to the best of my ability, and I can gove her some advice. But I'm sure you know more."

"Don't worry, I know what you're talking about, and I know you're not trying to pin this whole thing on me."

"Yeah. The problem is how we're going to tell her you know."

"Good point. What should we do?"

I pondered for a bit. _She might be tutoring Izuku again today, so maybe we could do it... over dinner?_

 _No, Momo would think I'm trying to hit on her. Maybe just a simple dorm meeting? That'll do._

"We could just meet at my dorm around 6:30 to explain it to her."

"That's close to dinnertime. Would you want to go someplace and grab food while we do it? With Uraraka, of course."

 _WHAT?!_ "U-Uh... sure! Sounds good!"

"Where do you want to go?"

"I'll ask Uraraka and she'll decide with me. I'll text you later."

"That sounds great! Talk to you later!"

"Bye!" I closed my phone. _Did she just read my mind?_

 ***flashback ends***

So now, later today, I'm going to be going to grab some food with Uraraka and Momo to explain that she already knows. We have a new kind of "guidance counselor" for Uraraka, I guess.

I'm thankful. It takes some of the heat off of me, as sometimes Uraraka would text me questions I don't know the answee to late at night. 

I hope she doesn't do this to Momo, but maybe they can be answered at the restuarant, or when they meet up in the future.

Back to the "now", we had the intensive activity today. The pairs were switched. I worked with Bakugo, and that man is the worst possible partner. I feel bad for Midoriya having to deal with him in the final.

Uraraka and Asui worked together today, and Momo worked with Todoroki. That's right, Momo.

Apparently the teachers saw the save that Midoriya had on Uraraka and decided to move him into Momo's position for the day to see how it would work.

As they expected, he did fairly well. He didn't even need support items. But he had bruised legs after the exercise.

We were now in the lunch line. "Hey, Izuku. Are your legs all right?"

"Yeah. I just overexerted them a bit, and now they're bruised. That's all."

"You didn't fall over or anything, did you?"

"No."

 _Now that I think about it, Uraraka raised a good point at quirk bowling._ "Actually, Midoriya, why can you only now con-"

"Shh!" There was a brief moment of silence. "I have an explanation, but for reasons I'll explain later, I can't have everyone know."

"Oh, okay. When should you tell me?"

"Well, I'm going to be tutored by Uraraka for math again today. Maybe afterwards?"

 _Uh oh. If he finds out that Momo, Uraraka and I are talking about him after his tutoring?_ "I'll be busy."

"Busy? Doing what?"

 _Quick, Iida!_ "I'll be visiting my brother at the hospital."

"Oh, okay." We walked through and got our lunches. I turned to Uraraka, and she winked and smiled. _That was close..._

I sat down to eat my food when a hot burst heated my neck and made me jump out of my seat. "Hey, damn nerd."

"Kacchan?" Deku believed he was talking to him as that's often how he is addressed, but he was wrong.

"No, I was talked to Mr. Class Rep. You both are nerds though."

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want?"

Bakugo started lighting tiny explosions within his fingertips. "You need to learn to listen, Iida. Nobody ever does it to you, so why don't you treat people the way you want to be treated?"

 _Ironic coming from Bakugo. But he's mad at me for trying to tell him to stop being so crude during the practice._ I was about to step in when Deku took the front seat.

"You know what your biggest problem is, Kacchan?"

"Do I need to hear it from you?"

"As someone who relentlessly studied you and knows a good deal about how your mind works, yes."

"Then tell me, Deku! I bet you're wrong!"

"There's a piece of advice I've heard from my father when I was young. 'If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all.' It's very helpful."

Bakugo looked surprised. This was totally out of character for Midoriya. "Wha... WHO ARE YOU TO TRY AND SILENCE ME!" He was shaken. I could tell he was a bit afraid.

Midoriya's face and arms lit up with his quirk. "I'm a 'nerd' who can smell your fear. You don't want to go under house arrest again, do you?" The entire lunch room was looking at Midoriya now.

"A... Are you... YOU... How dare you try and-"

"You know internally I was holding back. Now scoot and go back to your table."

Bakugo looked stunned. "Geez, somebody's miffed today." He left.

I was beyond shocked. Midoriya has a humble and gentle spirit, and he's not one to taunt those as reckless as Bakugo. I tapped him on the back of his shoulder.

"Izuku... are you alright? You seem a tad... off."

He turned to face me, with his regular smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. That helped me get some things out."

"Oh, did something happen?"

"Oh, w-well... I-"

"It was nothing! He's fine!" Uraraka jumped in, seeming to know something.

 _This is clearly something personal between them, though it doesn't seem to be coming between them. Probably just something that happened that Uraraka knows about._

 _I'd probably be best staying out of it. After all, I'd say it's better that he can trust Uraraka more than me right now._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Deku and I finished our Algebra class and walked back to my dorm this time. Today we had a test and had moved on from quadratic functions to understanding the functions themselves rather than working around them.

We found this unit to be a bit easier. This is where we had the "What is the answer if the function is g of f(1)?" It took more work, however.

Deku looked at his homework and frowned. "I don't really like math..." he muttered under his breath.

"Yeah. Me neither. I can tell, too."

"How so?"

"You're an avid note taker and ace student in the hero course. But when it comes to math, your interest goes down to zero."

"Well, yeah, you're not wrong." Deku looked at his homework, then slammed the desk. At first I was a bit rattled.

"What's the matter?"

"What does g o f(7) mean? They never discussed this in class!"

"Oh, sorry! That means the same thing as g _of_ f(1). It's just written differently."

"Oh. That seems a but unnecessary."

I chuckled. "Yeah, I know right?"

We had gone back to working individually in my dorm. We decided that we'd work by ourselves and check between each two problems.

"I'm done, Uraraka." I gawked. He was finished before I was, and that almost never happens. In fact, he was doing unusually well here. 

He'd never gotten any answers different from me, and we both got them all right so far.

"Alrighty, just one second!" _He doesn't seem as happy right now._ "Got it!"

We checked our work, and we had both gotten the same answer. "Okay, let's double check it." There was a website that plugged in the numbers for us, and we used to to double check.

"Looks like we got it! Those were the last two problems!" I looked at the clock. We'd only been in here for forty-five minutes since I first came in.

That's partially because he's not talking as much as he was yesterday. Often times yesterday I'd have to tell him to stop and focus on the work, though I let him talk to me a good bit.

It feels good when the person you like is at least platonically interested in you. But he did seem, as Iida said, a tad off.

Deku sat on my bed next to where I was sitting and opened his textbook to re-read the section we were supposed to look over. I looked at his face.

He didn't seem happy. In fact, his expression seemed a bit negative-neutral. Not sad, not mad. Well, both. But I can't tell which one is moreso. But both are very subtle.

"We're doing the process correctly. It looks like we don't have anything to look over."

"That's neat! Do you want to still talk about anything or do anything before you go?"

Deku was silent. He didn't say anything to me, and just looked at the ground. "Deku?" No words.

After I turned to check the clock, he spoke without making eye contact with me. "No. I just want to go to my dorm."

He stood up and got ready to leave. He put his hand on the doorknob, but before I was ready to turn it, I went in to grab his wrist. I grabbed his hand on accident. He didn't turn the doorknob.

I lightly pulled his hand from it. He was allowing me to do it, so I could tell I wasn't forcing anything. "Deku..." I paused.

"Uraraka?" I lightly blushed and let go of his hand. I didn't realize I was still holding it. _My reactions and my ability to not get flustered is getting better, but I still need to calmly react._

"Deku, you know you can tell me anything id you want to talk to somebody. I'm right here." _Just yesterday, he may have held something elsenfrom me._

 _I want to know what it is. It seems to be driving him mad. Ever since lunch, his patience and gentle spirit seems to have disappeared._

"Is there something else that happened?" He fell down to his knees and looked down so I could no longer see his eyes. His lips were trembling.

I bent my knees to go down a bit and put my hand on his shoulder. "Will you tell me what it is?"

"I-I'm sorry... I trust you... but no..."

"That's okay. You don't have to."

"I... I don't really know what it is, Uraraka."

I wanted to ask him something, but a lump appeared in my throat. _Shrug it off, Ochaco._ "Do you need a hug?"

He didn't look up at me or verbally answer, but he nodded. I went down to my knees to meet his level and hugged him.

His chin laid on my right shoulder, and mine on his left. A single tear fell onto my neck, but he didn't cry any more than that. He just shook a little bit.

I revelled in this for a while. He smelled nice, and the feeing of hugging him was comforting. I loved this closeness. Blood rushed to my face when I realized my own thoughts.

 _I can try and use this as an opportunity to practice acting natural. Don't think weird thoughts._

"Whatever it is, you know that I'm here for you." He lightly gasped, and I felt another tear fall onto my shirt. "You're always here for me. You saved me twice, and you're a strong pillar for me. That won't change one bit, Deku."

I felt his heart starting to pump faster. "Don't ever feel like you aren't helping me, or Iida like you did today. You're already a hero, Deku."

"Stop!" I gasped. My heart skipped a beat out of fear, then immediately kicked back into high gear. _What? Did I do something wrong?_

He pulled back and looked more straight, but didn't look at me in the eye. "Am I doing something?"

"Uraraka... what do you want me to do for you?"

 _Am... am I hearing this correctly?_ "You don't have to do-"

"This isn't fair... why am I the one being pushed up on a pedestal here?"

I paused. _I am worshipping him hard, but it's not because I hate myself. It's because I like him._

"I got lucky... and I could control my quirk... and I gor a golden opportunity... but you're only here for other people!"

My breaths were quickening. _Am I making him break down on himself by trying to bring him up? Is that even possibel?_

"I'm here so I can accomplish my dream... to become a hero. But you... you're just here because you want to help your parents!"

My face turned white. _He's not wrong, but I don't like this._ "Why is it you helping me? Why are you being so selfless? Why can't you live for yourself, damnit!" He was shouting at me at this point.

He didn't seem to have much left to say afterwards. He was waiting for my response. "Is that why... you want to do something for me...?"

"Yes. How can I repay you? What do you want?"

 _I... I love you, Deku._

 _Wait... did I just?_

I didn't say it out loud, but just the thought made my face light up like a match. I put my hands over my cheeks, and turned away.

"N-Nothing! You don't need to do anything! You're fine!"

"Do you like me?" I looked up, still facing my wall. _No! No! Act natural! Calm down! This can't be when he finds out! I can't... I can't let him think that!_

"No! I don't! That's not it; I swear, I swear!" I turned around and wasn't expecting Deku to be so close to me.

He put his hand on my cheek. "Uraraka, it's okay. Stop ignoring your feelings."

"Deku, I'm not-" He closed the gap between my lips and his. The sensation drove me insane. His lips were warm, and the contact was soft. But it had a peculiar sense of relief.

He pulled away. _That... was very..._ I covered my mouth with both of my hands. I was mortified, but so happy at the same time.

"Ochaco, please tell me. Have you been harboring any kind of feelings for me like that?"

 _He used my first name..._ I was stunned. I had utterly no idea how to respond. Time seemed to be frozen at that moment. _What should I say?_

 _If I say no, he could be heartbroken. He just initiated the kiss we just shared, after all. These feelings must have been killing him._

 _But if I don't know if he's doing this for me or for him. His statement was clear: he's trying to make it up to me. And if he thinks I like him... then he couldn't..._

I was shaking so much. "D-Deku... I don't want this..." He looked unnerved. He immediately turned back into the shy Deku I knew and loved.

"Uraraka... are y-you serious?"

"Yes... I'm sorry, Deku..."

His cheeks blew up brighter than Bakugo's hands did when I fought him. "I'M SO SORRY! I WAS SO SURE THAT-"

"It's fine... I'm just a bit... startled." _I guess we have our answer. I picked correctly._

"I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's okay. I know you were just trying to make me feel better." He looked at me with a neutral expression. "How about we just relax a little by ourselves, okay? Are you good?"

"Yes..."

"See you tomorrow!" I tried to sound as natural as possible, and waved as he closed the door. I waited for his footsteps to disappear from my hearing.

Once they were gone, I fell down in utter disappointment. _He doesn't like me..._

Tears started rolling down my face. _He did that just to 'make it up' to me... because he felt so much pressure on his shoulders..._

I got a phone call from Iida. I picked it up immediately. "Hey, it's 4:30. Ready to leave in 30 minutes?"

"I'm not coming."

"Uraraka, this is importa-"

"No." I hung up immediately. I tried to take a breather when he called me back.

"Uraraka, did something ha-"

"YES!" There was a short pause. "JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I hung up for the last time, and then covered my head with my pillow. That's when I started weeping more loudly now that nobody was watching.


	7. Day 6: Momo?

**Hey, what's up everybody. SomebodyWhoLovesThings here.**

 **Per usual, I hope you enjoy the fic. Please leave constructive criticism and/or suggestions in the comments if you'd like.**

 **It really helps and I thank those who do. Y'all are great.**

 **Also, the FREAKING centering this is happening again. I can't save things without it automatically centering everything smh. Sorry, Y'all.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all can enjoy anyways.**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 6 of 21**

 **Thursday**

\- POV - Deku -

I had woken up a bit earlier this morning. _I've been so emotionally distraught for the past few days. I need to be considerate for Uraraka, but give myself a break._

I figured I'd just act like nothing happened and apologize for yesterday. That's probably what she'd want. I wasn't going to think too much; that'd only make me more emotional.

My comfortable bed was hard to get out of. I decided to lay for a bit longer and allow myself to contemplate the scenario and think about things just for now. Now was the only time I'd do it.

 _Yesterday, I did that because I thought for sure that she liked me. I wanted to do something for her other than let her raise me on a pedestal._

 _But I only made things more awkward. I have no idea how my emotions got ahold of me like that, but if I were like my usual self I never would've been able to kiss her like that, even if I knew she liked me._

 _Why did my first kiss have to be so forced and end so terribly? The act itself wasn't bad. She didn't even reject it_ _completely._

 _Ochaco has the qualities of someone I'd want to date. She's beautiful, she has a great quirk, she's responsible, a great friend and encourager, and more. But I don't consider it for two reasons._

 _Firstly, it'd be one-sided. She puts me on this pedestal like I do with All Might. There's a difference between what I do and what she does, however. I was given everything by All Might, I didn't give Uraraka much, so it's unfair._

 _Secondly, I've just never thought about dating girls before. If I did, maybe I'd discover feelings for someone. But I'm not quite sure as of now._

 _If I had to date someone, it'd definitely be Uraraka. But I haven't ever felt like I liked her romantically. I'm just really bad at talking to girls._

 _I had a feeling nagging at me yesterday when I was in the room with Uraraka. It wasn't me wanting her to stop praising me, though that did bother me. It wasn't me being mad at hiding things from her._

 _It wasn't me feeling guilt at how I acted towards Kacchan. It wasn't any of that. But when I kissed her, it went away. It had tension. It was very manipulative, yet I was the one who started it._

 _For those moments I was with her, I really couldn't understand why I couldn't avoid thinking about Ochaco. I don't think I'm in love with her, but as much as I hate to admit it, it's possible._

 _I don't really know my own thoughts too well yet. I kissed her out of guilt, but I felt something drown out in me when it was happening, and a new feeling arising when I was done._

 _Was it... relief? Love? Lust? Embarrassment? Happiness? Confusion? Insanity? I have no idea._

I turned to look at the clock. _It appears it's time to go. I best act natural around Uraraka; it's what she would want._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Momo -

The other day, Iida, Uraraka and I were supposed to grab dinner and chat about her little crush. It seemed appealing to me.

I wasn't going to tease her or bully her; though I would have fun doing that because I ship those two and they're adorable. But I wanted to help her.

Iida cancelled on me yesterday. He said that Uraraka was extremely distressed for seemingly no reason. Two possibilities: hormones overboard or something happened between the two.

I walked into hero class today and Izuku seemed absolutely normal. He didn't seem angry or stubborn like yesterday, but the normal good-worker determined Midoriya he was.

He's someone I almost look up to. If it weren't for the fact that he's unable to control his quirk for some reason he'd probably be the best hero in our class. 

Now, I'd have to say it's the tough-hearted dreamboat, Todoroki. He may have not passed the second phase of the provisional hero, but he made it through most of the sports festival with just half of his quirk, with some exceptions like against Midoriya himself.

But getting back to the topic, Uraraka seemed very stressed today, but only for like five minutes. She saw Midoriya, and he whispered something to her, and then she started acting natural.

 _Yeah, it's not just hormones. Something is going on, though it seems pretty low-key. Are they already dating?_

No, that wouldn't explain her stress. Maybe they got in an argument? Or a fight? I can only find out by asking her, but if she won't tell Iida there's not a chance in the world she'd tell me.

We had more of a theoretical day, where rather than practical or hands-on practice, we once again went over protocol and answered situations verbally rather than by literally doing it like we did in practice.

Luckily, these days are basically glorified study halls. So people like Kaminari, Mina and others spend all their time cramming for the test the next day while people like Midoriya, Iida, I, and... *sigh*... Mineta... just chill.

I walked over to Iida's desk. "Hey, any updates?"

"No..." he sighed. He seemed a bit upset. At least Uraraka isn't acting too off; that would've been a double whammy.

"Who do you prefer to pair up with the most for the practicals?"

"Definitely Uraraka."

"Why?"

"The combination of our quirks do very well. I can run quickly to bring victims to the health station or I can lift-"

"heavy objects with Uraraka's zero gravity? Yeah, I was expecting you to say that." Iida looked impressed.

"W... Wow. That was exactly what I was going to say."

"I had to detect who was more likely to get in trouble the day I looked over everybody, and I didn't worry too much about either of you. But I thought if one of you were to get in trouble, it'd be Uraraka."

"Hmph. You ended up predicting that too. Your deductive reasoning is rivaling Izuku or Bakugo's."

"I wouldn't say that..."

"You did better than both of them on the midterms, you know." I blushed. I wasn't trying to brag. I was just stating my predictions. HE was the one buttering me up.

"T-Thanks..." I said, touching the back of my neck with my hand.

"Anyways, do you have any idea what's going on between Midoriya and Uraraka?"

"As much as you do."

"You think a little probing would be a bad idea?"

I pondered for a bit, then responded. "If you don't make it too condescending, too obvious or too rude, I wouldn't say so."

"Who should we try to squeeze it out of? Midoriya or Uraraka?"

"We've always tried Uraraka. She's practically our client at this point." _And she doesn't even know it..._

"So maybe I could ask Izuku if anything happened last night when they were studying?"

"If it's really that bad, then I don't think they would tell us. But considering how bad they are at hiding their feelings for each other, I think that'll be enough to get some info," I said.

Iida gave me a thumbs up and walked over to Midoriya. I grabbed my textbook and pretended to study, but really kept an eagle eye on Iida.

 _Why am I so interested in this? I'm not in their little friend group trio... and I don't have feelings for Iida or anything..._

I didn't hear what they were saying, but Izuku blushed spontaneously and started moving his hands a lot. Mainly he was touching the back of his neck, putting them in his pockets, or rubbing them together. Habitual stress patterns.

That's all I needed to know; something clearly happened last night. Iida walked back over to me.

"He's denying it, but if you were watching, his reaction was priceless."

I giggled. "Yeah. Now it's clear something happened. What did is the question."

We decided to take a chill pill for a bit and take a break. I went back to studying my notes on saving procedures and protocol.

Midoriya probably was writing or studying from his hero journals. When I first met him, I thought those were diaries, actually.

 _I honesty wouldn't be opposed to asking Uraraka if she ever wanted to hang out one-on-one. This will go nowhere if I never talk to her. So far, I'm just a helper behind the scenes._

I knew Asui and Uraraka were pretty tight. I would want to tell Asui but I don't think she'd be able to keep it a secret. Not that I don't trust her, but the way she talks is a bit... blunt. And very understandable.

She never lies, and that's a problem when you're trying to keep a secret. I do like her and I think she's chill. But whether or not she knows is the decision that Uraraka will make; not me or Iida.

My train of thoughts was interrupted when I saw Uraraka. She was walking over to Izuku's desk, who was motioning her to "come here".

Luckily, this time, I was paying attention and I was close enough to hear. Not very clearly, but better than nothing. Mineta, who was normally between Midoriya and I, was off probably getting slapped by Asui's tongue for being a douche like he normally is.

"Hey... what is it?" Uraraka asked.

"I wanna ask... but it's a bit..." _Dammit. I can't fully hear them._

"Okay... what..." _Agh!_

"I'm sorry about what..." _Probably "what happened last night."_

"It's fine, just..." _*sigh*_ I was trying to listen while not making it clear I was trying to. It wasn't working.

"Actually, I need to..."

"Really? But..."

"I know you're uncomfortable, but..." _Hm. He made her uncomfortable?_

"No, it's fine! How..."

"My... or your..." _My or your WHAT?_

Uraraka's face exploded with blush. "Y-Yours! Your dorm!" I didn't even need to listen to hear that. She was so flustered she almost shouted it.

Everybody in class glanced over, and then went back to whatver they were doing.

"S-Sorry! I-"

"No, it's okay... I understand..." _From what I can muster, Uraraka is doing something in Izuku's dormitory, and she doesn't want to do anything in her own?_

I thought about this. I couldn't really think of any possible outcomes. _Maybe she's afraid of what Deku would see in her room?_

No, he's already seen it. _Maybe she just likes his All Might stuff?_

No, that doesn't explain her embarrassed reaction. I really have no idea, but I took this prefound knowledge and stored it.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Today, I had decided to brush off what happened yesterday and act natural. I don't know if Deku likes me or not, but he's surely noticed me. It hasn't even been a week in and we've already kissed.

 _*sigh*..._

Even I know I'm pushing myself to do things. This is ridiculous. I really just want to act natural until we're comfortable around each other like usual.

I'm at least acting like I am. Deku seems fine as well, though I'm certain he's at least a little shaken up by the incident yesterday. Sure, he gets flustered if I'm too close to him, but that's always happened.

I stood outside the hallway and waited. _I hope this goes well..._ I came up to me from behind, but I hadn't seen him. "Hey, are you and Midoriya going to do the tutoring again!"

"AH! H... H-Hi!"

"Did I startle you!"

"A bit..." _You interrupted my train of thought..._ "But yeah. Us two are doing that again today. Sorry I cancelled on that yesterday."

"Oh, no problem." he said. "I actually wanted to talk about that."

A bead of sweat rolled down my face. "Y... You're not mad at me for that, are you?"

"No! No, no. I just wanted to ask if you possibly wanted to do that today."

"Oh! We'll probably be able to get the work done by then."

"Okay, that's all!" He pulled out his phone and his fingers ran furiously across his keyboard. _Is he..._

"Who are you texting?"

"Oh, nobody. It's nothing important."

I smirked at him. "Is it a giirrrrllll?"

His face looked flushed. "Yes, but that's not important."

"Dang, since when did you get girls' numbers, Iida! You only got mine later yesterday!"

"S-Shut up!" I giggled and waved as Deku came out of class.

We walked down the hallway. It was pretty normal for the most part. We kept walking until we got to our building. He then stopped, but I didn't notice.

"Uraraka?"

I didn't hear him. He tapped my shoulder. "Ah, yes?"

"We're going to my room? Do you not want to go to yours?" He looked a bit embarrassed. It's probably his All Might figurines scattered around. But I love them.

"If it's okay... can we go to yours? I don't judge you for your All Might fandom. In fact, I like it?"

"What's the problem with going to your room?" I thought about it, and my mind gave me a flashback of kissing him. The warmness... the tension being released and the pressure and fear beforehand...

the...

My face burned brightly. "I-I-I uh... um..." _Ack! Bad timing!_

Deku looked confused at my reaction. "If it's that big of a deal we'll go to my room, but I don't get what about it turns you off." _At least he didn't read my thoughts..._

We walked back to his room, and we went inside to do our math studying.

We still did mostly function stuff and f o g(x) problems, though we would be moving into a new unit next week. The test scores were back.

Deku had gotten a 92, and I had gotten an 89. He did better than I did, which never happened in that class. Not only was he never this good, I was never this bad.

I usually was able to get 95s or 100s in my sleep. Maybe this crushy stuff is taking a toll on me, and I need to relax a bit.

 **Some time later...**

Deku and I had finished all of our homework. We double checked, and he actually got me on one thing. _He's learning... more than me!_

I walked out of his room. "Who's the tutor between us now?"

"Still you."

I smiled widely and gave him a high five. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Bye Deku!"

He closed his door pretty quickly. Normally I would've thought he was nervous (and maybe he was), but this time, nothing really happened.

We finished our homework, we made normal chir-chat about our hero business and we double checked our work. Nothing too eventful. Just... friendly stuff.

No doubt I prefer this over uncomfortably kissing him and crying into my pillow, but this was a huge detour from what we were used to after these emotional sessions.

 _I have to remember that this is mutual. Both of us are trying to act like nothing happened._

I went over to Iida's room, which was a bit further away, but not by much. It was on another side of the building, but it was around the corner.

Today, we were going to grab some dinner just as friends. I don't really know the impulse of what made him want to do this, but I have no objections.

But the way that he makes this feel semi-important was a bit stressful for me at first. I was worried he was going to lecture me about boys.

I knocked on his door. "Iida!"

After about fifteen seconds, he answered. "Hey! Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Let's go!"

I dropped my stuff off in his room and we walked through the town to get some food. 

We just ended up stopping at a Japanese food joint. He seemed to take it seriously, not like a date, but not like a regular thing.

I was starting to get a bit curious about his intent; I knew he didn't romantically like me. But his interest and sophisticatedness regarding this event was a bit unnerving.

We went inside the place, and Iida stood in front of me to get a table. "How many?"

"Table for three, please!"

I gawked. "Y... You... you didn't invite Deku, did you?!" _He's gonna find and excuse to leave!_

"No, you'll see."

"I KNEW I- wait... huh?" I didn't get what he was talking about. Who else could be coming here?

We sat down at the table and ordered our drinks. The third person just got water.

"Iida... why didn't you tell me that a third person was coming?"

"This third person... has a bit of explaining to do."

"Where is the third person?"

The door opened righr after I said that. We couldn't see who it was from here, but Iida raised his eyebrows. A subliminal message, basically saying _Here he/she is!_

The person at the door asked if the person had made a reservation.

"Is an 'Iida' table for three here?"

"Yes, right this way, ma'am." _Ma'am... so it's a girl..._

 _Wait, I know who it is!_

"Momo?!" She sat down next to Iida, dressed more casually than usual.

"Hey!" she gave me a disarming smile and sipped her water. "I heard you liked Japanese food a lot, and I do too!"

 _Wait a minute... wait a minute... wait a minute!_

I gave Iida an evil grin. "I know what this is about..."

"Wait... Uraraka?"

"You think I need to ask out Deku on a double date? Is that what this is?" Momo and Iida's faces immediately blew up.

"N-No! That's not it! It's something else!" Iida said.

Momo looked mildly irritated at Iida for this. She looked embarrassed. "As Iida SHOULD HAVE SAID, I'm going to explain and discuss something with you."

Iida looked a bit intimidated. "I... I told her! I swear! She's just jumping to conclusions!"

I laughed. _They're cute. I don't think they'll become a thing but this is a nice way to spend my afternoon._ I took a sip of my Cola.

"Anyways, what do you want to discuss, Momo?"

"Your crush on Deku." I immediately cringed and lept back. Cola almost came out of my nose.

"M... I-Iida! Why'd you tell her?!"

"I didn't. Let her finish."

"O-Okay."

Momo smirked. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell anyone."

I let out a sigh of relief. _Iida's probably arranging this for a good reason. At least I can probably trust her; she was someone who thought we should lay off the "love" issue after signature move training anyways._

"Do you remember the first day of intensive saving practice, where you and Iida were paired together?"

"Yeah, I do."

"I was on duty looking to save people at the time, as not only a test of my ability, but for a safety protocol."

"Correct. Deku was in that position afterwards too."

"You know why he was placed there?"

 _She probably doesn't know this. Deku checked, and he told me that nobody had seen us._ "He apparently got this huge save on somebody. Beats me."

"It does, doesn't it? That save couldn't have happened to be someone he found very dear to him, could it!"

I urked. _She... she knew?_ "Y... You know?"

"Yeah!"

"H-How... but Deku said he checked and didn't see anybody in the vicinity!" Momo lifted up her hands and pantomimed a pair of binoculars.

I paused and looked at her. I frowned. She stared back at me, smiling in an almost cocky manner. I slowly started smiling again. I was trying not to smile, but I failed.

"You're good."

"Well, it was my job. It was my duty to look after you. My quirk ran out of juice, so a teacher would have had to save you, but Izuku jumped in at the right moment."

 _Wow. That seems like pretty good timing._ **"But how did you know that I liked him?"**

"I didn't see anything but the end, but you ran away covering your face. And after what happened after our signature move training with the 'Love' business, I figured something along those lines was happening."

 _I'm really as see-through as a window, aren't I? But how come Deku hasn't asked me up front yet? Maybe he doesn't know?_ "Do you think Deku knows?"

"I think Izuku probably likes you too."

Once again, I remembered Deku when he was about to kiss me last night. I could practically feel his hand stroking my cheek again. "Uraraka... it's okay..." I remembered.

I felt warm. "What're you talking about?"

"Do you think he does too?"

"N-No! I... I don't really know..."

"He was always pretty nervous around you."

"Yeah, I know, but not as much anymore! He's just a bit socially awkward; I am too!"

"You still don't seem entirely convinced he doesn't like you, Uraraka." Iida jumped in.

"Huh?"

"You said 'I don't know'. Do you think it's possible?"

I paused. _I don't really know... but judging the circumstance..._ "Uh... maybe..."

"C'mon, girl!" Momo pushed my shoulder lightly. "There's definitely a chance! You just have to make him realize it."

 _A chance... yes..._ He kissed me. We've already crossed a lime. But we didn't cross it to a point where it's convincingly clear he likes me. It seemed like it was mutual, but obligated at the same time.

 _His main motivation was obviously to make me feel better... but he didn't struggle. He went straight in. That might mean something, but then again... Deku's mind hasn't really been-_

"Are you okay?" Momo asked.

"Oh!" I almost forgot I was here.

"We're about to order soon."

"Ah, okay!"

 _Man, he does rub off on me. Now I'm babbling on to myself and overthinking things as he does._

We ordered our food, and that gave us a break from talking about Deku and just generally enjoying the food. It saved me some pressure to answer questions.

I think she was having mercy on me, so we didn't talk too much for the rest of the night. Mostly small talk about Deku, school, and other stuff. She seems to have known for a while.

When Iida was texting someone outside of my Algebra class, it was probably Momo. I can't imagine it being anybody else. Plus I had just provided him info about being available.

I'm able to trust her, but I don't really know if I want to talk about it with her much anymore. Not for today at least.


	8. Day 7: Nightmare

**Hey, what's up everybody. SomebodyWhoLovesThings here.**

 **Not any disclaimers this time besides the stupid centering issue (kms). Just hope you all enjoy the fanfiction!**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 7 of 21**

 **Friday**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Yesterday was okay. I was fine with eating dinner with Momo and Iida because they decided to chill about the whole "Deku business".

It feels a bit odd knowing that Momo is aware of my crush on Deku, but she's probably the person I'd tell first. Asui would be the other, but she talks a bit too freely. I'm sure she wouldn't spill the beans intentionally, however.

But today, I was a bit stressed. I believe today is the last day we get to practice our victim saving with physical training. On Monday, we will go over the protocol very briefly and then go into the practical exam.

I quickly got up, hopped in the shower, and started cleaning up. Once I got out, I brushed my teeth, did my hair, and did everything that I would on an ordinary morning.

Not once was I expecting a villain to show up right outside my door. I had a towel around me, and I saw Tomura Shigaraki.

"AAAHHH! All Might! Aizawa! Deku! HEEE-" He put his hand over my mouth. I held the towel around me tightly.

"I'm going to move my hand from your mouth to your neck and you aren't going to say a fucking thing. You got that?"

I shook with fear, not giving a solid answer. He giggled sinisterly. Tomura slowly moved down to my neck. I was breathing heavily. "Fine, you can talk. Just don't do it loudly."

"W-W-W-Why are y-you-"

"I'm sorry, but it looks like you're being taken captive. This school, and as a matter of fact, the world as a whole needs a lesson or two to learn about celebrity and hero worship."

I kept shaking, holding the towel to my chest so he wouldn't see anything. "C-Can I at least put some clothes on?"

"Fine. Go. I'll even turn around to give you privacy." _At least he has the slightest bit of nobility._

 _Alright, I have to do something or I'll be gone from U.A. And likely cause even more trouble and possible legal action._ I looked around the room for something to throw after getting some clothes on.

"Ugh, are you done yet?"

"S-SORRY! I'll hurry up!"

I continued looking for something until I found something. I turned to throw it but all of a sudden...

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER ROOM YOU PIECE OF SHIT!"

Deku screamed and leaped to throw a punch at Tomura, but it was blocked by something. "W-What the?!"

After the cloud of smoke disappeared from the scene I saw a Noumu. _No! Not at this time! Any time but now! Why'd he have to come prepared!_

"Nice try, boy. But I don't come without any tricks up my sleeve. I'll kill you first, so that your putrid joke of a retired mentor can suffer as the final flame of his memory is GONE!"

The Noumu dashed towards him with blazing speed. "Detroit..."

"SMAAAAAAAASH!" Another gargantuan cloud of smoke enveloped my room, and I fell over from the gust. I was surprised that nobody came to my room after his scream.

The smoke was blown away by a quick empowered swat from Deku. I was only wearing a tank top and sweats as of now; I wanted to be comfortable in case of the kidnapping.

"Ochaco... you're going to be okay." _He used my first name again!_ He lifted his hand out to pull me up. I let him.

I stood up quickly and hugged him. We embraced tightly, as the smoke cleared. I couldn't see Tomura, or a Noumu, or anyone anywhere.

I pulled my head back, us still holding each other. "Deku... I... I need to tell you something."

"Y... Yes?!" _I'm starting to think he knows what's coming... but he's not resisting?_ I looked at him in the eyes.

He inched closer to me, little by little. I felt our lips touch just barely, but then I froze. _I need to keep going! Don't let this end!_

I tried to go back in, but then got shoved backward and landed on my back. "Deku?"

"AAAAAAAGH... RUN!" The skin on his neck turned black, and he grabbed it in pain. Then Tomura came from behind him and put both of his hands on his arms, disabling his combat abilities.

"Deku!" I was frozen in fear. I couldn't help but watch, but I couldn't move. I wanted to go forward so back. Tomura then placed his hand on Deku's heart! "NO!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

"DEKUUUUUUU!" I woke up in bed, and it turns out it was all just a dream. My heart was beating at a million beats per minute, and I was sweating.

I took some deep breaths, but I was almost convinced that was real for a moment. I started to cry lightly.

 _I didn't even try to save him... I'll never be able to help him, or anyone, including my parents, for if I can't even move!_

I heard a knock on my door about five minutes later. I froze! _Oh, shoot! It's in the early morning! They're practically gonna kill me!_ I hesitated, then slowly walked to my door. I heard voices.

"Goddamn, did you hear that, Mina?" said Jiro.

"Of course I did. She screamed Deku's name. She must've had a nightmare. I told you she liked him or Iida!"

 _Uh oh!_ "Well, we don't know that particularly. I'd say it's possible, but we don't want to jump to conclusions." Momo was trying to compromise to make me look better.

"I agree," croaked Tsu. "They've been hanging out all this time, so chemistry may have developed. But she could've had this nightmare about anyone else."

A pause happened. "Aw, man!" That was either Mina or Toru. I couldn't tell too well.

I decided to open the door. "Sorry for screaming... I had a nightmare..."

"Yeah, I figured, ribbit."

"How early is it?" asked Mina.

Momo checked her watch. "Well, about 6:15. So about five minutes before we're supposed to normally get up anyways."

"Hey, you have good nightmare timing, Ochaco!" said Hagakure.

"T-Thanks..." I sniffled. "I'm going to go take a shower. Sorry for waking y'all up..."

"That's fine," said Jiro. She patted my shoulder. "Just don't worry. We're all here." I smiled.

They all left, but Asui stayed for a moment. "Ochaco, I have a question if you don't mind."

I yawned. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Did you dream that Midoriya was attacked or killed?"

I blushed. "Y-Yes... please don't make me remember."

"Do you like him?" I had an Aoyama flashback. _Drat!_ I blushed harder.

"N-No! Of course not!"

"Ochaco, you might not believe me, but you can tell me. I won't say anything about it. I'll avoid the topic as best as I can." 

_Now, Tsu is a sweetheart. I know she'd never intentionally tell anyone. And even if she got on the topic, it's not like she can't lie. She just says stuff a lot._

I decided to be honest. She'd probably be my first pick if it weren't for Momo finding out first. "Yes... but we can talk about it later. I already have Iida on my back for it trying to get me to ask him out."

Asui flashed me a cute smile. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

I smiled. "See you in first block!"

"Ribbit!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

In the morning, all the girls had given me strange looks. It was very unwelcoming, and I walked into class with a bead of sweat dripping down my face.

I went over to chat to Uraraka before class. "W-What's going on?"

"I... I had a nightmare about... you..."

"You did?"

She got up and close to me. _Why... do I suddenly feel all tingly? I thought I was used to this feeling. But now... I know she's not trying to kiss me, but..._

Her face was centimeters from mine, and she got up to my ear. "Don't tell any of the guys this, but I had. A dream you were killed by Tomura and I screamed when I woke up."

I blew up in blush. "Uraraka..."

"I'm sorry. I really don't have lucid dreams."

"It's okay. But please don't ever worry about me like that. I'd never let that happen."

She looked at me and frowned. "Do you really have control over whether or not he comes?"

I looked puzzled. "Uraraka, I'll never let him near you. Whether he comes or not, he'll have to get through me to get to you."

Her face went pale. "D-Deku, you died in my dream! Not me!"

"I won't die in real life. Not to him. I won't die until I become the greatest hero I can be."

Uraraka smiled. She sniffled and wiped a tear from her eye. _Is what I said really that uncharacteristic of me? I wouldn't be suprirsed personally, but okay!_

"Deku... you're a very inspirational person." I went to a neutral expression. _She's praising me again._ "I like you, Deku."

"I like you a lot, Ochaco." We paused after saying that. _Did she mean it... like... you know..._

"CLASS IS STARTING! Everybody, get to your seats and prepare for the final physical exercise of this week before the final on Monday!" _Drat, so it's on Monday? I had no clue!_

I made my way back to my seat. Uraraka flashed me a smile, which I returned. Then Mr. Aizawa had walked into the room.

"Okay, everybody. Your pairings for today are going to be your pairings for the test day. This time, nobody will be watching the other students to save them besides us."

All Might stepped into the classroom in his regular form. "On the test, you must tread with caution. If you must be saved by one of us, you will lose points. You must be able to sustain yourselves if you want to save others!"

"Yes sir!"

"Alright, and here are the listings!"

Group 1: Denki Kaminari, Kyoka Jiro

Group 2: Tenya Iida, Fumikage Tokoyami

Group 3: Minoru Mineta, Rikido Sat

Group 4: Katsuki Bakugo, Koji Koda

Group 5: Momo Yaoyorozu, Toru Hagakure

Group 6: Izuku Midoriya, Ochaco Uraraka

Group 7: Tsuyu Asui, Shoto Todoroki

Group 8: Hanta Sero, Mashirao Ojiro

Group 9: Yuga Aoyama, Mina Ashido

Group 10: Mezo Shoji, Eijiro Kirishima

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

"Mr. Aizawa?"

"Yes, Uraraka?"

"I don't really feel fully prepared for the exam. Could I go here to practice on Saturday?"

"Sure, the sign-up sheet is on the wall."

I walked over to it, and looked at the other people signing up. Maybe I could find Deku.

 _Tokoyami's going to be here later at night... Bakugo's waking up early in the morning... Momo is going to be here after lunch... wait, what are all these scribbles over her time?_

I looked, and saw that her times were changed over and over again. I looked further down the page to find that Mineta's were scribbled out as well. _*sigh*... that asshole._

 _Wait, Midoriya!_ I saw his name and instantly signed up at the same time. He was waking up a bit earlier for tomorrow. Maybe I could ask if we wanted to get lunch together afterwards or something.

 _Oh geez... it's so early... it's about as early as I wake up for school every day. I hope he'll say yes._ I yawned just thinking about it.

"You don't strike me as an early bird, Uraraka."

"AH!" Aizawa was right behind me. I had almost forgotten he was there. "Oh. I... I want more of my Saturday, and I'll get more hours the earlier I wake up, r-right?"

"I guess. See you then." He huddled back into his sleeping bag and crawled into the corner of the room.

I walked out of the hallway on my way to my dorm. I didn't really know what to do.

As I walked, Iida came by my side. "Hey, Uraraka. Are you going to practice on Saturday too?"

"Yeah."

"What time?"

"E-Early. Like, _school_ early."

"Why would you-" he looked at me with a puzzled look, and then it immediately disappeared. "Oh! Is it about Midoriya?"

I put my hand over his mouth. "Shh! Not so loud... yes..."

"I can wake up early and practice with you guys if you want me to-"

"No no! I've got this, you don't need to help me. Plus, there's not any more spots available at that time so you'll have to wait!"

"You think you can handle it?" He looked unconvinced. "Your shaky stance says otherwise."

 _Ack!_ "I promise, Iida. I'm... I'm planning to do something."

Iida got the memo without me having to tell him. He waved at me then left as I went to my room.

 _Tomorrow is the day it happens... barely a week has passed. He's already kissed me. Maybe this can happen._

 _Can it?_


	9. Day 8: First Date

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here. Just wanted to say that I hope you enjoy the fanfic!**

 **And thanks for all the constructive criticism to those who are giving it to me! It really helps.**

 **And I'm sorry about the centering issue. It drives me nuts too; the app really needs to be fixed**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 8 of 21**

 **Saturday**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I woke up early in the morning to start practice. I got ready as quickly as possible and went outside.

Yawning, I walked outside of my room and started to head to school. _Why did I ever think this was a good idea? Oh yeah; I have a stupid crush on Deku._

I took a deep breath. _I need to do something about this. Now, it's not just a stupid thing I did with Iida. I know I have a chance now._

Remembering what he said yesterday made me feel reassured. **"I like you a lot, Ochaco..."**

But I couldn't let that push me into a false sense of confidence. I still don't know if he legitimately likes me in that sense or if he's just a bit swayed by the odd circumstances.

I still want to ask him out for a lunch date today just to do something that's actually more of a date than a study session, though. I won't outright say it's a date, but I will try and push it into some different territory.

As I walked into the Unforeseen Simulation Joint, I mindlessly let my mind wander as I looked around the surroundings.

 _This is practically a hero playground. I get to choose what I need to practice on._ "Uraraka?"

 _Did I just hear my name? No, I think that's me hearing things. Deku wouldn't normally be this early; I came a few minutes early. He loves his sleep._

"Uraraka?" I lifted my head up. _Is he here?_

"Mr. Aizawa?"

"No, it's me, Deku." I turned around and he was right behind me. I was startled.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

"S-Sorry! I... I came a bit early to ask if you wanted to practice with me. I have some things I need help with."

I paused. "Really?"

"Y... Yeah. For a few things."

"All right. What are they?"

The first thing he wanted me to do wasn't too hard. He wanted me to float heavy rocks to him so he could learn to direct the force of his smashes.

You see, sometimes when he punches something, it will shatter into pieces, like a rock. Hopefully not a villain. But if he directs the focus of the punch, it just flies away, which is what you would want to do to incapacitate, albeit spare a villain.

The only trouble for me was my part in the practice. Lifting heavy rocks was getting easier for me. But if he failed to do the launching smash and the rock shattered, or he intentionally shattered the rock, my focus would have to be diverted.

My part of the practice was to maintain control of the rocks after they were shattered. His part of the practice was to learn to direct the focus of his smashes.

"Yeah, I think I can do that. How long do you want to work on that specifically?"

"I want to do that later... b-but..."

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah! The second request is a bit odd, however."

"How so?"

"I... I want you to let me carry you... for some time."

"What?!" Our faces matched shades of beet redness. _I know he's not being a perv... but this is just... weird..._

"I-It's not because of anything weird, I swear! I-I... I need to practice mobilization of a partner who doesn't have a quirk which can increase mobility."

"O-Oh. That makes sense."

"I'm sorry for how that came off..."

"No, it's alright. I can do that. I know you aren't trying to be weird."

"Okay. You want to do the rocks practice first?"

 _I do... but..._ "I would... but that's going to exhaust me more quickly. Could we... do that after we practice what you just mentioned?"

Deku's face blushed even harder. "Y-Yeah, sure. Let's start on the top of that building over there."

We first started from jumping from building to building. As I went up to him for him to hold me, my cheeks flushed. I immediately ignored it, however. _Use this as an opportunity to practice your nerves around Deku!_

"Ready?" He looked down at me as he held me in his arms. I was very embarrassed. _Thank God no other kids are around right now._

"Yeah!" His legs bent, and then he jumped.

"Hold on." I clutched onto Deku's shoulders. He was holding me bridal style. Feeling his broad shoulders subtly, I felt faint. _He's so... strong. He must stick to a strict regime like he did before he came here._

The wind blew his green hair from his face, and I unintentionally stared as he jumped from building to building. I would have been in a daze if it weren't for the impact blasts he made every time he landed.

A soft wind blew my hair from my face, showing how my facial skin tone was still mostly pink. Luckily he wasn't paying too much attention and was focusing on the jumps.

I was able to focus on the smallest details of his face. His cute freckles, and the slight smile on his face. He was able to accomplish what he hadn't yesterday, as I was lagging him behind.

I lightly laid my head on his chest and felt his heartbeat. He didn't say anything. He was probably convinced that the drag force pushed me into him.

It sounded like it was exploding out of his chest. His heart was beating quickly from the work he was doing with his legs. And I could see how hard he was working them.

He made large impacts, almost craters, each time he landed. This jump, I decided to tap his shoulder and embrace more strongly. I used my quirk, and he landed like a feather. I immediately released but didn't think about the precautions.

He fell over, not expecting the lightness. Deku dropped me on the ground and toppled over onto me.

I groaned. "Uraraka, why'd you do that?"

"S-Sorry! I just wanted to minimize the damage! This could be considered sloppy if you needed to save a victim like this, or if you caused too much destruction to your surroundings."

Deku pondered for a bit and then nodded in agreement. "I can try to use my quirk to help absorb some of the shock rather than exert it with the jumps. That comes at the cost of jumping less further, however. That or I'd have to work my legs harder and risk breaking them."

My face went blank. "No no no! Don't do that! If you need to, make smaller jumps. The ones you are doing right now are leaps and are already pretty good. But I'm sure that you can still move at a steady pace with less damage to surroundings."

Deku stood up and confirmed. I walked over to him as he prepared to jump. He came over to me and lifted me up like usual. My blush came back. _Gah!_

He looked a bit stone-faced. "Are you sure you don't want me to test this on my own? I could hurt you."

"Nonsense. You studied Bakugo's moves and have done light movements before in class activities. I'm sure that you can learn this quickly."

He looked down at me, but my hair was in my face. He brushed it aside. "I'll be sure to cover you if something goes wrong." More blood rushed to my face. _Oh geez... he's so... noble..._

His legs bent, as he coursed energy through them. I could hear a light buzz before he jumped. The wind force was weaker as the jump wasn't as far.

But he made the jump shorter. As he landed on the next building, there was no impact of any kind. _Wow, I was right._

He continued to jump through the city. I spent the time feeling the wind force on my face and dazing off.

He later slowed down. "I'm going to go down to ground level. Hold on." I wrapped my arms around him to stay where he was.

He jumped down and swung off of a pole at high velocity. I held on tighter to ensure that I wouldn't fall, and I felt his heartbeat. Still beating quickly.

We landed on the street safely, and he fell in his side after initially landing on his feet, us rolling over onto the sidewalk. I laughed.

"That was fun! Are your legs alright?"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

The practice was a bit embarrassing, but I'd rather have to hold Uraraka than anyone else in the class. Not only have we sort of gotten used to being close ( _willingly or not...)_ , but she's smaller and lighter.

But after the rock smashing practice, Uraraka was extremely tired. My legs were a bit worked up but I was mostly fine.

After the final stone we had worked together to practice on, she nearly collapsed. "Are you okay?" I said, lightly laughing and holding her up.

"Y-Yeah..." she yawned. She is not nauseous as much as she used to be and is more exhausted or tired now. Plus, she's learned further control over gravitational properties. Her quirk is starting to look scary, actually.

"It's around 11:15. We've been practicing this stuff for quite a long time." Others have already arrived earlier this morning. Good thing we did _that_ exercise first.

We walked back and sat on benches near the walls of the USJ. "Cool... maybe it's time to... to... uh..."

"Time to what?"

"Time to... g-go home..." she yawned but looked a bit confused. _How exhausted is she? I wonder._

"Really? You don't want to..." _I want to ask her out... but... hm..._

 _Gah, dammit. Just do it!_ "Do you want to grab a bite to eat maybe before you go?"

She looked up at me and smiled. "Y-Yes, actually. That'd be cool. Where do you wanna go?"

 _Her favorite food is Japanese food._ "Would you want to grab some Japanese food maybe?"

"Normally... I'd say yes but I had some with Iida not too long ago..."

A pang of jealousy hit me in the stomach. Or maybe that was hunger? If it was, that's really coincidental. "O-Oh. Do you have a place you'd want to go?"

She leaned back further in her chair. _Holy crap. She wasn't lying when she said this stuff wore her out. We took breaks in between, but I guess we were practicing for a long time._

"I'm not too sure." She seemed to be trying to look more natural.

"Well, there's just a grocery store nearby if you want to go grab food and bring it back to our rooms."

"Mmm... Nah." _Uh oh. Please don't tell me I'll spend the next half hour telling her our options!_

"Is there a food you're in the mood for in particular?" She didn't really say anything. 

"Pasta?" She nodded her head 'no'. "Hamburgers?" Another 'no'. "Chicken?" 'No.' _Hmm... she doesn't have a food in particular, so maybe..._

"Hey, I have an idea! There's an Asian buffet nearby that I've never been to. Would you want to try it out?" Her face brightened up. "It has some other stuff too, though. I'll cover it."

"S... Sure!" She got up and stretched briefly, and yawned. I stood up quickly and we walked outside of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

We got to the streets outside of the school. Uraraka seemed more awake than when she was inside of the school.

"So, where did you go with Iida?" I asked. While I stated that, another pang struck my stomach. It felt like hunger, but I'm not starving right now. Am I jealous? _My stomach does feel a bit jumbly..._

"To that place over there," she pointed. "I went there to eat some Japanese food."

The awkward feeling in my stomach intensified. "Did you two go alone?"

"No. Someone else was there." I breathed a sigh of relief to myself, then immediately questioned it. _Wait, why am I-? I know Iida wouldn't... oh no..._

"Who else?"

"Momo."

"Oh yeah. Are Iida and Momo a thing now?"

"Heh, I wondered that too but they said no. I'm honestly not sure if I buy it, though." I felt even more relief, and then I started blushing. _Gah! Why do I care all of a sudden?! This isn't what I think it is, is it?_

We continued walking down the sidewalk. About two more blocks and we would've made it to the buffet we were planning to go to.

But Uraraka seemed to be dozing off a bit. She held my hand for a bit. My face exploded. _W-What's happening? Is s-she-_ She immediately started leaning on me, with her eyes closed. 

I breathed in slowly and breathed out. _She's just tired... it was probably an accident._ I nudged her head. "Hey, we're almost there. Don't start sleeping on me."

She shook her head around and let go of my hand. She didn't even realize that she had done it; that or she didn't care. Which I personally think it was probably the former. "Oh, sorry." She yawned.

 _This yawning is starting to get on my nerves... I think I'm going to fall asleep when eating the food if she doesn't stop with her contagious yawning._

When we got into the restaurant, there was only one open seat that I gave to Uraraka. I went up to the person serving customers. "Two under the name 'Midoriya'."

The man wrote down our names. The wait was around ten minutes. During that time, Uraraka phased in and out of complete consciousness.

 _Geez... her nausea was pretty severe before this started happening. She just skipped one problem and jumped straight into another._

When another seat opened up, I sat down next to her while waiting. She closed her eyes and laid her head on my shoulder. Uraraka wasn't asleep, but she wasn't fully aware.

I kept on blushing like usual. _So... close..._

Eventually, I heard my name called. "Midoriya?" I went up and woke up Uraraka without letting her know what she was doing.

We walked over to our table. It was a small booth with a candle in the center of the table. I ordered water, while Ochaco ordered a soda to take advantage of the caffeine.

"I like the atmosphere of this place," said Uraraka.

"Yeah, me too." I looked over to the buffets, as we could see them from our table. "What do you plan on getting?"

"I'm not sure. We'll see when I get there."

"I'm going to go straight for the pork." I love my mother's pork cutlet bowls. I should take her to my house sometime and maybe my mom could cook those for us.

Ochaco took a long drink of her pop and stood up. "I'm going to go grab some food. You coming with?" _I don't know if it's the soda, the candle or what, but she seems more awake._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

After we had gotten our food, we went back to the table. _This actually feels like a date. Maybe I need to start making it feel like one? But how do I do that?_

"Do you think we'll do well on the finals on Monday?" asked Deku.

"Oh yeah," I said, shoveling noodles into my mouth. _Ack! Manners, Ochaco!_ "Excuse me. We have great mobility as we practiced and we both know the protocol extremely well. Plus we already have our provisional hero licenses anyways, so it can't be that bad."

"I'm still shocked that Todoroki didn't get his."

"It was a teamwork thing from what I've heard, though I could be wrong."

"Yeah, he told me. I'm not surprised that Kacchan didn't get his, however."

I giggled. "If he had a heart like yours he could already be a licensed hero." Deku turned a bit pink, then smiled.

"Thanks. Who do you think has the best quirks in our class right now?"

"I'm not sure. I'd say Bakugo or Todoroki, but yours is extremely versatile. If you didn't injure yourself while using it, I probably say yours is the best."

"But if you had to pick between us three, who would you pick?"

I pondered for a bit, then gave my answer. "This is going to sound biased, but I'd say Bakugo has the best quirk because it's better for close range fighting than Todoroki's."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Todoroki's is really good at a distance, but even you were able to get hits in when you couldn't control your quirk. You are a close-combat fighter and Todoroki's a defensive zoner. Bakugo's more close-combat but he mixes both in a sense."

Deku stone-cold stared at me. He looked surprised. "W-What? That's my honest opinion!"

"I know... but it's so informative. I've never seen you talk like that, Uraraka!"

I blushed. "I got it from you, Deku." He then blushed. _At least we have matching hues probably..._

"You're..." he seemed to be looking for words. "You're... you're wonderful. You know that?"

A tsunami of blood came rushing to my face then. "O-Oh! Thanks, Deku!" He gave me a wide smile. My heart melted after seeing his dorky grin. _How can he make me feel this way so easily..._

"Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah, I just need to use the restroom." I left the table and went to the restroom. When I got there, I took a breather.

 _Uraraka, he's so good at just getting in on you. That's not a bad thing, but you need to calm down. You've got this!_

I rubbed water in my eyes to get rid of my tired sensation (though it had lessened with time). I took some more deep breaths and walked outside to the table again.

Deku was still waiting there for me. This atmosphere... so much of it just seemed like a date. The candle, the few couples gawking at each other across the restaurant, and more.

I got to the table and sat down. _And the way he's treating me... it's so nice. And yeah, that's how he normally acts, but he seems to be letting go of that "keep things normal" act._

"Is something on your mind?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm just wondering what to get for dessert."

"I'm about to go there if you want to come with and look."

"Okay!" We walked over to the dessert bar. I saw a couple of things. It was mostly American stuff. There was banana pudding, cake, cookies, and other stuff. But I really just went and grabbed some ice cream.

Deku did the same after he saw me doing it. We did a little mini-competition to see who could make their cone the prettiest.

Deku won "by default", but then some of it dripped onto his shirt and he had to lick it back over the cone so it wouldn't fall over. So by my standards, I won.

We decided to walk back to our dorms while finishing our ice cream because it was a little hot outside. We had eventually made it onto the U. A. High School campus.

"Hey, Deku."

"Yeah?"

"I know we're about half a mile from our rooms, but can I walk an alternate route?"

"Is it longer or shorter?"

"L... longer..."

"Oh, that's fine." I was shocked by his response but rolled with it anyways. I walked around the campus into a more secluded area.

 _I want to try to hold his hand._ The thought spurred randomly. I didn't really consider doing this when I asked if we could walk longer. But it came and I started looking down.

He luckily didn't notice me being embarrassed to myself, so I had time to reciprocate and build up the courage to do it. _Come on... nobody will see you. At worst you'll be kindly rejected._

My left pinky moved without my own free will and started entangling with his lightly. I didn't even realize it at first. I lightly gasped when I felt his hand.

"Huh?" He lifted his right hand and saw that he was holding my hand. His face became a bit confused. "I... I'm not opposed to this, but what if Iida-"

I had an uncomfortable lump in my throat, but I still somehow managed to speak without thinking. "Nobody's here, Deku. We can hold hands if you would like to."

A pause happened. He looked at his hand, then put it down by our side. His hand was still holding mine. _I... It worked? Is this a real date now?_

Deku started occasionally scanning the area, making sure that nobody would notice us walking while holding hands.

I gave his hand a light squeeze, and smiled at him when I got his attention. "Don't worry, Deku. Just do what you want to. Nobody will see us. I'll make sure of it."

He looked back ahead and we continued to walk through a trail that went farther away from the campus.

 _His hand is so warm, and it was a bit trembly when I first held it. But now... it's comforting, and it makes me feel like he's on my side. It makes me feel... satisfied. Safe. Protected._

I couldn't help but smile as I walked down the pathway. I lightly rolled my eyes to my left, to see Deku blushing furiously, but with a slight smile that he almost looked like he was trying to hide.

We went on pursuing the pathway, which was now looping back to our rooms. "Ochaco?"

"Deku?" _He used my first name... in real life?!_

"Thanks."

I chuckled. "For what? You paid for dinner and everything, you helped me practice, and you are a fun person to be around. I should be thanking you."

Deku frowned. "You helped me practice too..."

"And I'm thankful for that. Plus you let me hold your hand."

Deku's light smile returned as we continued to pass on through the trail. We made way to the front of my room. Nobody had seen us throughout the whole walk. He let go of my hand.

"I think I'm going to take a nap."

"Be sure to set a timer. You don't want to mess up your sleeping schedule too much for test day."

"I got it."

I walked up to my door and unlocked my door when I felt his hand grab mine one more time. I turned around and held his other hand with my other hand.

We looked at each other in the eyes for what seemed like an hour and a second at the same time. Our cheeks were rosy, and I felt something buzzing inside of me.

"I liked today."

"M... Me too." We stared at each other, not wanting to let go. Our hands slowly dispersed, and I went into my room. "D-Deku!"

"Yes?"

"I... I'll see you on Monday. Thanks for lunch."

He smiled. "No problem." He walked away, and I suddenly felt both very empty and very satisfied at the same time.

When I got inside, I laid down on my bed. _I... I love him..._

 _How did this ever end up happening? How did I get to do that? How did my feelings ever become this intense? How did he get feelings for me?_

My brain flowed with questions that I had no answers to. One more question came to my mind while I was setting my alarm for the next forty-five minutes.

 _Why do I still feel like something is missing?_


	10. Day 9: Rested Advice

**Hello, everyone! SomebodyWhoLovesThings here. Just gonna have one thing to say.**

 **Also, I will put "Screw The iPhone App" on the bottom of my disclaimers every chapter until I'm done because of the centering issue (kms).**

 **Screw The iPhone App**

 **Enjoy! :)**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 9 of 21**

 **Sunday**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I woke up this morning feeling better than I had any other day. I was buzzing with happiness.

Today was my rest day before the final exam, and I felt prepared. I had talked to my partner, we practiced techniques, I'm improving my quirk, and more.

 _But geez... yesterday was something._ That's the most progress I've ever made with a guy I've liked before. I'm so happy.

But one thing seems unclear to me. Yesterday felt a lot like the date near the end. But it still felt like it was missing something. I can't really put my finger on it, but I know it's there.

There was one thing stopping it from it being a full-on concrete romantic thing. For all we knew, it wasn't super clear until the end when we held hands and went for a walk.

I have a lot of self-confidence now knowing that Deku probably likes me. _That or he's really, REALLY tolerant of me._ I want to ask him out again, but I don't want to do it too soon. And I wonder if he'll ask me out. 

Maybe I could send him a signal or something? I don't really know what Momo means when she says "signal". She says that it's often to let guys know you like them, but I think Deku already knows. He just needs to do something about it.

I had stayed in my room for the majority of the day, memorizing protocol and phrases to say to those who were in trouble. But I got a call from Momo earlier today to talk about stuff and I just now got one from Iida.

I answered the phone. "Hey!"

"Hi, how are you? You haven't been talking much today."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm pretty good, how about you?"

"I'm fine, thanks. You seem really happy. Did something happen?"

I felt like I was going to explode with happiness thinking about it. I went into my bathroom to use the walls to lower the noise. "Will you keep it a secret between us two for now?" I asked eagerly.

"Sure. You sound excited. Why is that?"

I took a deep breath. "I WENT OUT ON A DATE WITH DEKU!!!"

"W-WHAT?"

"Y-Yeah! I know!"

"A real date?"

"W-Well... kinda. I don't really know if that counts as a 'date' or not..."

"Hmm. Did you just hang out or did you do anything? Or did you kiss?"

"N-No! We didn't!" My face burned.

"What'd you guys do?"

"We went out and had lunch at a buffet after practicing together. And then we walked back to my room together."

"Did anything else happen or was that it?"

"We... keep this a secret too... but we held hands on the way back."

I heard applause from the other side of the phone. "BRAVO! BRAVO!" _Figures from when I told him my hero story, but..._

"I-Iida, someone could hear you! Stop it!"

"Don't worry, I'm alone."

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

"DEKU WHAT THE HELL?!" An explosion raised from Kacchan's hand as I finished what I was saying.

"K-Kacchan! You said you wouldn't tell anybody if I let you say that you won our fight!"

"Ugh... fine. But what the hell made you into round face?"

"I-I don't know! And don't call her 'round face'!"

"Okay, Deku. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. I know you've come to talk to me because I've always been more popular and superior to you, and..."

I dozed off as he praised himself. _I hate to admit it, but he's right. I only came to him because he was cooler when we were in junior high..._

"But anyway, everybody knows she likes you."

"H-Huh?"

"What do you mean 'Huh'? How can you spend so much time studying hero work and not know that a girl who likes you will probably try to hold your hand?"

"I-I know... but the question is would she want to actually continue dating me?"

Bakugo facepalmed and muttered something under his breath. "She said that she enjoyed the time yesterday, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Then why wouldn't she say no to another date?" _Kacchan is behaving like a civilized human for once... this is strange._

"I... I'm not sure what the next step in our relationship is. I mean, I want to ask her out again sometime, but I don't know how to tell her I-"

"Kiss her."

I gawked at him. "K-Kacchan!"

"You two seem to be in a state where you have feelings for each other but are either in denial of them or are keeping them in secret. Something obvious like a kiss would make it easier to reveal them."

"I... If I tell you why I won't do that, will you tell anyone else?"

"I would, but under this deal, no."

"I already did earlier a few days before the date and she denied feelings for me..."

"How?" He didn't seem furious. This is odd.

"I... I don't know! I don't know why she likes me now but not before!"

"Was there a reason she was hiding it? What were the circumstances? Who initiated it? How-"

"Okay, okay! I'll explain."

Kacchan is a surprisingly knowledgeable social person. He was pretty popular in middle school. But he has yet to get a girlfriend here. I can only think to what Asui said on the first day as to why...

Maybe when people see the more rational Kacchan they'll like him more. But he doesn't seem to be eager to show that.

In a nutshell, he thinks that she's just really confused. And that doesn't help much because I am too.

I feel like something is missing that makes the 'status' of Ochaco and I clear, and I might just know what that is.


	11. Day 10: Combat Club

**What's up everyone, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here.**

 **Screw The iPhone App**

 **That is all.**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 10 of 21**

 **Monday**

\- POV - Deku -

Today, Uraraka and I had done our finals together. Our mobility tactic was about as awkward as it was yesterday. I believe it was balanced out by the confusion of our feelings and the 'Hey, I knew this was coming' adding and subtracting our stress respectively.

But we did pretty well. At least I think we did. We passed the exam according to All Might, but our actual grade is yet to be determined.

When I got back from lunch and headed to my next class (which was normally history), I was told that all U. A. students would be attending an assembly.

When we walked there, I met up with Iida and Uraraka and sat with them. I waited for a while for one of the teachers to go up there.

"What do you think this will be about, Uraraka?" asked Iida.

"I have no idea personally. But he called everybody from the school here."

"Good point. Maybe it's announcement of a new club or policy, or something like that." I said.

"I hope it's not another security concern," said Iida. "We've had enough attention in the news lately."

Before we could continue conversation, All Might came up and started talking into a microphone.

"Good morning, U. A. students. I'm here to talk about a new program that we are going to be starting at this school."

 _Hm. So maybe I was onto something. I hope it's something I can enjoy, as I don't really do any extracurricular activities._

The students had a minor outbreak of excitement. Not many clubs are offered here, because the demographics vary drastically.

We have students with amazing quirks like Bakugo, Todoroki, Tokoyami, and others. But we also have great strategists, smart students or specialists with only specialized or less useful quirks such as Hagakure or Shinso.

That's also why U. A. doesn't have any sports leagues; because they'd have to make divisions for both quirk-emphasized sports and non-emphasized sports.

"Now, now. Settle down. This new club we are announcing is going to be sort of an opportunity for those who are in the U. A. hero course, but can also be joined by anyone from anywhere else."

 _This is interesting! So they ARE making a new kind of club. It's probably quirk oriented due to it being a hero specific opportunity, but let's see._

"Today, we are announcing a new U. A. Quirk Combat League, which will compete at in-school competitions and out-of-school competitions with other teams."

Cheers erupted across the school. U. A. never actually had a sports program especially, so this was delightful news for the students. It gave them entertainment as well as an opportunity for us hero course students.

 _I'm personally very excited for this._

"We will have a tournament coming up soon which includes everyone in the Hero Course. This is their next unit, though they are not required to join the club."

 _Is this going to be another tournament like the one at the U. A. Sports Festival?_

"Additionally, we had a team of teachers and judges come up and rank the students for a pre-season ranking based on past accomplishments in combat. You will find out the rankings once we poll the students to see who is interested.

 _A ranking system based on past accomplishments? I hope the U. A. Sports Festival isn't weighed as highly, then. I won't even be ranked if that were the case..._

"We will release the rankings by the end of the school day, but first we are polling all of you to see who is interested. Firstly, hero course students. Please come and tell us if you are interested. Afterwards, we'll release the club's pre-season rankings."

 _This is exciting!_ I walked up along with the rest of the hero course students.

"Deku! I wonder if we'll be ranked on the pre-season rankings!" Uraraka came to me and eagerly spoke.

"Uraraka! Are you interested?"

"You bet I am! I'm sure I'll be on there considering my training in Gunhead Martial Arts at the internships. What do you think?"

"I... don't think I'll be ranked. I had a relatively easy game against Shinso once I found out his quirk, and I failed stragey-wise against Todoroki. The only way I could see myself ranked is if past accomplishments are weighed."

"Sure, that's true. But everything else you've done was phenomenal. I think you'd be at least top 10."

"We don't even know if the rankings are top 10, top 5, top 25, or top 50. I wouldn't rule too many people out right now."

"You've got a point." She flashed me an adorable smile. The line had moved up a bit, and she went to one of the computers in the computer lab to submit her response. "I'm going. See you soon!"

"Bye!" I went up and submitted my response and sat back down. When we had finished the polling, it turned out that almost everyone was interested in this new sports league.

Mr. Aizawa took over for All Might and came onstage.

"All right, everyone. No players had to be subbed on the list; everyone who was ranked was interested in this sports league. With that in mind, here are our pre-season rankings for the First Year U.A. Combat League."

Pre-Season U.A. Sports League Rankings

1\. Katsuki Bakugo (0)

2\. Shoto Todoroki (0)

3\. Ejiro Kirishima (-1)

4\. Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu (-1)

5\. Tenya Iida (2)

6\. Fumikage Tokoyami (-2)

7\. Neito Monoma (1)

8\. Ochaco Uraraka (1)

9\. Itsuka Kendo (-1)

10\. Izuku Midoriya (-1)

HM: Momo Yaoyorozu (2)

HM: Mina Ashido (0)

"For those who don't know," said All Might, "the parantheses signify the survey of the judges. These numbers are what the judges will predict the rankings will end up looking like based on previous or current events."

 _I... I'm not even top 10 according to the judges?_ "But don't worry, as this will happen after every tournament or matching event, so you have a chance to correct your mistakes and get yourself in the rankings!"

I looked around at everybody else. They were all on the edge of their seats. They're probably confused, yet astonished, that U. A. is finally holding a club that isn't based on something like hero internships or academics.

This is an arising opportunity for me. _I get the chance to compete with other schools if I'm good enough. This is what needs to happen. I need to show the world that 'I am here!'_

"Thank you all for your patience! Now, go back to your classes! The tournament will start as the next unit for the hero course students tomorrow!" said All Might.

"PLUS ULTRA!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

This combat club peaked my interest immediately. Actually, it sparked up some concerns. I immediately went up and casted my name for being interested, but I didn't think about the consequences.

What if I get hurt? How often will these events take place? Will this event give me opportunities to spread my name or maybe embarrass myself? I don't know.

But man, that was a breath of fresh air. U. A. is prestigious, but it's a focused school. I could understand everyone's hype, partially because of my own as well.

I had finished my last class, and started walking back to my room with Deku. "So, you were interested?"

"Yeah, definitely! This is my chance to show my name!"

I smiled. _His determination remains admirable as ever..._ "Also, congratulations on being ranked! You must be thought of highly!"

His face looked glum. "They don't think I should be ranked..."

"Well, all you have to do is prove them wrong!"

"Are you sure I can? What if I have to face up against Kacchan or Todo-"

"You can do it! You were so close last time!" At this moment, we were still walking. I wanted to grab his hand. I wanted to encourage him, and also I like him (obviously). But... it didn't do anything. _Um... what?_

"Thanks... but I'm still a bit afraid. He'll probably use his fire quirk this time, making it even harder to adapt." He was worrying himself. I wanted to hold his hand even more to reassure him... but nothing was happening. _Dammit, Ochaco! Just do it!_

An awkward pause happened, and my hand started to shake as I very slowly forced it to move. He saw my face, and I looked very distressed. My face was beet red.

Somehow, everybody had disappeared and I was the only person. We had already made it to my room. _We must have been walking faster than usual... or did the pause last longer than I anticipated?_

"Uraraka, are you okay? You look a bit... on edge."

"I... I've got something on my mind that I can't stop thinking about."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

 _Yes. I do. But... it's too awkward. It's weird. I don't know how it's going to come out, or if it is. But the question is "Where are we at?" Are we friends? Are we dating? Do we like each other? Did yesterday even happen? Are we-_

"Hello?"

"U-Uh, no. Sorry. I'm really confused right now, but it's not a big deal. I'm just a bit worried about maybe getting hurt in the tournament tomorrow."

Deku put his hand on my shoulder, which barely startled me. "Don't worry. You'll do fine. I know you have the capabilities; you're a tactical genius. You showed it against Kacchan." I blushed.

"Deku..."

"You created a plan much better than I did. Did you know Kacchan came up to me after the event and thought I was in on the plan?"

I paused with my jaw creaked open. I nodded my head 'no'.

"You're going to finish the season in the top 10. I can guarantee it. But risking injury and failure is a sure part of this league. Though I know it's nothing you can't handle."

 _He's catering so much to a lie... this doesn't feel right._ "T-Thanks..."

"Are you sure you don't want to discuss it further?" _He seems a lot more eager to talk to me now. Previously, I'd have to try to get him into my room for studying. He didn't hesitate, but still._

 _Now, he's the one who asked me out to dinner, and he's trying to talk to me about stuff more. Could he... just maybe... like..._ My face burnt. "I... I want to rest the topic. What you've given me now is enough."

"Alright. Just know I'm here to talk if you ever need anything." He smiled and waved goodbye.

 _Why does my nervousness always suddenly decide to appear and disappear at will?_

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Kacchan -

First on the rankings... heh. Doesn't give me any more than I deserve. I need to keep my name up there. Those judges better not move IcyHot above me.

I took another brief scan of the rankings on my smartphone, as Kaminari and Kirishima played games in my room. _Deku's so low... I hate to admit it but that damn nerd knows a thing or two about combat. Yet the judges didn't even think he should be ranked._

 _About that kid, what the hell was he thinking calling me in for dating advice? I don't really admit it, but I've only dated a few times, and none of them have they worked out very well._

 _And it's not like that idiot should trust me. Maybe he's too much of an airhead to realize it, but now I have a gun to point at him whenever I want something from him. Or if I want to screw up his reputation, then/_

"Ah, drat! That's not fair!" said Kaminari.

"I told you I'm the master at this game!"

"Sure you are, cheater!"

"How am I a cheater?"

"Well, you aren't a cheater. But you're a tier-whore."

"Tier-whore? It wasn't my choice to pick the character you picked."

"I know, but now I have no options to beat you that are in my comfort zone. I either play an impossible game with a character I prefer or play an even mirror match with a character I hate."

"Well, if you don't like tiers, don't play a competitive player."

"Guys, shut the hell up. I'm looking at something." I said.

Kaminari looked over my shoulder. "What are you looking at?" I butted his head away. "Is that the new app they released for the combat club?"

"Yes! Now can it, jackass!"

"Geez, you seem like you're thinking about something. That's a first." said Kirishima. I looked at him with dissent. "In all seriousness, is something on your mind?"

 _I could tell them. That idiot wouldn't stand a chance. His social life would be screwed if he couldn't hang around Uraraka all the time like he does now._

 _But for some reason... I'm not saying anything. Why is this lingering in my mind?_ "I just wonder what the match-ups will be at the big tournament tomorrow. And if the rules are the same as the previous tournament."

"Wow, you actually care about this stuff?" said Kaminari. "You know, a hero also saves pe-"

"I WILL BE NUMBER ONE AT THIS SCHOOL AND IN THE WORLD, AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"Yeah, we know. But being a pro wrestler doesn't automatically make you a great boxer. If you want to be good at an entire job or category, you have to practice all of the skills rather than just one." Kirishima added on.

"Though nobody's debating that you're going to kick Midoriya's ass when you guys fight tomorrow." said Kaminari. "Didn't you win the fight you guys had?"

 _Heh, I will take advantage of this though._ "Yeah, I did. But why am I fighting Deku tomorrow?"

"It's only logical that they'd seed the tournament based on the rankings. Because you're number one and he's number ten, he'll fight you."

"That doesn't include the rest of the hero classes, idiot."

"Oh, good point."

I continued checking out the rankings on my phone. _I wonder why they put Deku so low, and why they don't think he'll be any higher._

I mean, yeah. There's a lot of good fighters here. But with All Might's quirk? Not even top 10? No way.

I mean, obviously he won't ever take me down from the top spot. He's never been able to defeat me. And he never will. Not on my watch.


	12. Day 11 (Part 1): First Tournament

**What's up everyone, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here.**

 **Just going to say that this is going to contain much longer chapters now that I'm getting into the Combat Club's first tournament.**

 **Because I'll be describing certain fights, these chapters could even split certain days into multiple chapters.**

 **Personally, I'll try to avoid that. But if it becomes a necessity, I will do that. I want to release chapters regularly.**

 **Also,**

 **Screw The iPhone App.**

 **Hope you all enjoy! :)**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 11 of 21 - Part 1**

 **Tuesday**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I've had combat training with Gunhead during the internship, so I don't think I'll lose both matches at the tournament.

Apparently, this tournament is going to be a tad different from the others ones in that it's double elimination. So I can make a losers' run if I fail early.

Additionally, Class 1-A and Class 1-B will both have their own tournaments, and the top four of each will move on into a final top eight clash for the hero course.

During training, I've been trying to accentuate my own mobility with my quirk. I don't have a powerful or enhancing quirk, rather, one that can weaken opponents.

And due to an increase in training with my quirk, I can also decrease the gravity of an object rather than simply removing its gravity all together. But I cannot increase the mass or gravitational properties of objects.

With all of these improvements in my capabilities, I feel that I may have a chance in combat. But I have to hope that I won't go up against a super strong offensive or defensive combat type, such as Kirishima, Bakugo or Todoroki.

Additionally, the rest of our classes are going to be held up by the hero course today. The hero course, general studies students and other departments all stay in other classes (such as history or science) together, so the teachers were fully aware and were ready to allow a break in their schedule.

 _So they've been keeping this from us this whole time. It's such a radical change; I would've expected that they at least let us know something was going to happen even without specifics._

 _Meh, I don't mind._

The arena will be the same as the one used for the U. A. Sports Festival, and the rules are the same. You must make your opponent surrender, immobilize/render them unable to fight back, or push them out of bounds.

I'm getting the feeling that I will be pushing for the last of all of the strategies, because the idea of beating someone into a pulp doesn't appeal to me, and I don't have a quirk that would allow me to put a hypothetical gun to my opponents' head.

"Uraraka!" I shrieked.

"Ah! Deku!"

"Sorry if I startled you. You just seemed very deep in thought. How do you think you'll do?"

"I... I'm not sure. I think I might have a shot at top 4 though I really don't expect to get there..."

"Yeah. I honestly feel the same way, though I'm a bit more confident that I might be able to make it in. Maybe I can redeem myself versus Todoroki."

"Oh geez, he'd be a nightmare for me to fight."

"Yeah. You wouldn't have anything to grab or hold onto so you could use your quirk, and touching him would be difficult due to his fire quirk."

I panicked just at the thought of fighting him. "Make sure you don't say this too loudly..."

"Yeah, I know. You have a solid chance though, Uraraka. I think you'll definitely make top 8 with your combat training." _Top 8?! With people like Bakugo, Todoroki, Momo, Kirishima..._

 _a-and you?!_

"A-Ah! Keep your expectations modest, Deku!"

"I am! I just think you'll do very well. With the way you think shown in your fight against Bakugo, I think you just got unfortunately put up against number one. You'll definitely be fine against others!"

I blushed. _I did get eliminated round one by the person who won the event... but that's besides the point._ "T-Thanks... I think you'll be top 3."

"Three?" He looked flattered, but only slightly surprised. "Who else do you think will make top 3?"

"Bakugo and Todoroki."

"Yeah, I agree. Though I think third will be either Iida or Kirishima. But I think others, like us, have a shot too."

"We'll both do our best. That's all I know."

"Yeah!" I gave him a high five, and then he left to talk to Iida. I scanned around the classroom.

 _I wonder if the tournament is seeded based upon the rankings. Or is it seeded based on the U. A. Sports Festival results? Or the provisional license exam?_

 _No, not the provisional license exam. Todoroki wouldn't be that high. Mineta would be seeded higher._ I continued to ponder on and on about the tournament.

I reflected on about my moves that I had worked on and Gunhead Martial Arts.

 _All this thinking is getting to me. I don't want to burn out my brain before I get to the tournament. Let's just relax a bit._

I stopped thinking for a while and just went to sit by Iida and Midoriya, who didn't notice me and just kept talking. I smiled. _Those two are the greatest friends._

"All right, everybody! Head to the stadium for the first U. A. Combat Tournament of the Combat Club! And also, your pretest for the combat unit!" Present Mic shouted to the class.

We all headed over to the stadium. When we got there, no audience or cameras were in sight. Just a couple of teachers and administrators. _Good to know I won't have much pressure on me._

"Good morning, students! This tournament is based off of the seeded rankings for this class! We have a full ranking for each class, as well as a combination of both classes, which we used the first to seed the tournament!"

 _That answers my question. That was off of a panel as well as results._

"We will have a few preliminary rounds of fights before we get to everyone else!" said All Might. "Any questions?"

Iida raised his hand. "Yes, Young Iida?"

"Will we be staying in the stadium?"

"Good question! We want there to be as little pressure and distractions as possible, so you all will go to a separate classroom as a lobby and watch on screens. You will be in charge." He gawked, and All Might continued.

"Anyways, we would like to call some students to prepare for these rounds! These students by last name are Koda, Hagakure, Jiro, Aoyama, Sero, Koda, Mineta and Ojiro!"

 _Ojiro surprises me. He has a pretty good physical combat quirk._

The bracket was displayed on the screens around the stadium. Deku was going to fight Kaminari. Iida was going to fight Sero. And I had to fight... Tsu?

I felt blood drain from my face. _Oh gosh... round one and I already have to face somebody who has a pretty decent combat quirk? My quirk isn't combat based at all!_

I went to Momo, who would end up fighting Mina. "Hey, how do you think you'll do?"

"I'm not sure. It'll be tricky both shielding myseld from Mina's acid and trying to find an opening, but I can probably find a way. You've got a good chanve for round one match."

"I-I do?"

"Yeah! Asui has tricky movement, but luckily, no super strong physical prowess unless you're in water. It'll all depend on how you adapt."

 _I forgot that Momo is one of the big strategists of our class... she'll definitely do well._ "Wow, that was a pretty quick summary you just gave me. But it helped. Thanks."

"No problem. You've got to be careful. If you win, you'll probably fight Kirishima next." I stopped my speech suddenly.

"K-Kirishima?" _He's a full-blown combat type! He's practically genetically engineered for these type of things!_

"Well, if he beats the winner of Shoji and Hagakure, yeah. You still have a chance, as your quirk can lighten the potential damage, but it'll be tricky to incapacitate him or get him out of bounds."

 _Things just got a whole lot worse for me! I can't let my nerves take over!_ "What are your goals for this tournament, Momo?"

"I want to hit a home run here and make the top 4. I wanted to join the combat league, but they didn't even put me in top 10. It's my turn to show them what they've been missing."

 _I think they know what they're missing. You had the highest positive difference in objective and subjective placements on the rankings. You'll be sure to make the top 10._

"Yeah. I really won't be a combat inclined hero, but I need to brush up on my weak areas. The Gunhead internship got me a lot of free points for the rankings, but it means nothing if I can't use it."

"Good point. I think we'll both be on the rankings by the end of the season."

"You definitely will. I'm going to go think for a bit. Goodbye, and good luck!"

"Good luck!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

I am continuously mentally preparing myself for my fight against Kaminari. I didn't focus too much on the preliminaries because the only threat I can personally see is Ojiro, but he got beaten by Mineta.

Crazy, right? Mineta ended up with a bloody head afterwards, but he used enough of his balls to completely immobilize Ojiro tail-first. I was surprised.

For the rest of the matches, Aoyama defeated Jiro (which I also wasn't expecting), Hagakure lost to Shoji, and Koda was defeated by Sero. That was all for the pre-lims.

I play the winner of Todoroki and Mineta if I defeat Kaminari, and that's concerning because I really doubt Todoroki will drop the game to Mineta unless a miracle happens.

"Momo Yaoyorozu and Mina Ashido, please come to prepare for your match!" I heard All Might say over the reciever.

"Good luck to both of you!" I stated with a smile. Momo waved and left, and Mina shot off a finger gun and smiled. Both appeared confident.

The two eventually faced off, and it was a compelling match. When the match happened, Mina was on the offensive.

She was producing a lot of her acid and moving quickly around Momo, trying to find openings to where she could come in and knock her out of bounds or push her back with the acid.

Momo put up a strong fight, however. By producing a shield, which she grew in size when needed, she blocked most of the acid and slammed it against Mina if she tried to rush in on her.

The majority of the fight was very defensive and heavy on how the two observed each others' actions. 

Mina got in a few times, but never quite managed to get Momo out of bounds. And she wasn't able to land much acid on her to force her to surrender. At most the acid burned her clothes.

Momo never really got too many openings on Mina, but the ones she managed to get mattered. She even produced a pair of handcuffs and placed it on Mina when she tried to rush on; though they were gradually melted away by the acid.

The handcuffs that she produced served nothing more than a mere distraction and set-back for her mobility, which was still a plus, but it wasn't going to get her anywhere without application.

But eventually, Momo pulled it out in the end. Mina's main offensive strategy was quick mobility, observation, and keeping Momo defensive with the acid.

Momo realized this and managed to find openings on Mina by forcing her to avert to freeing her hands rather than pushing her offense on Momo, which eventually got Momo rushing on her, and led to her pushing her out of bounds.

The next match was Tokoyami vs. Sato. The match-up didn't last very long, mostly because the quirks are kind of similar.

Tokoyami's Dark Shadow is impaired by light, making his match-ups against Todoroki and Bakugo horrid. But it can serve as a disjointed entity or as an enhancement to Tokoyami's physical capabilities.

Sato, similarly, has a quiek which enhances his physical strength. The difference is that his setback actually harmed him severely in this match-up, as the cognitive function deteriorating hurt more than Tokoyami's weakness which was never really exploited in the match.

Sato put up a strong fight in the beginning, but all he could really do was delay the inevitable. He started our aggressive, and gradually got more defensive as his lack of strategy and fear got to him, until he was forced out of bounds.

The two victors, Momo and Tokoyami, will likely have to face Bakugo and Iida respectively, if the tournament goes according to my expectations.

The two losers, Mina and Sato, will have to face Hagakure and Ojiro respectively on the losers' side of the bracket.

"Izuku Midoriya and Denki Kaminari, please come to prepare for your match." I heard All Might say over the intercom.

Uraraka grabbed me by the shoulder before I lefr. "You got this, Deku!"

"You can do this, Midoriya!" said Iida.

"Thanks, you guys! I know you both will do well. See you in a moment!"

I walked over to the preparation rooms with Kaminari. It was a bit awkward at first. I was walking down the hallway with the person who I was going to try to physically fight in the next fifteen minutes at most.

But Kaminari was the first to reach out and talk to me. "Hey, let's have a good game!" He held out his hand.

"Thanks, Kaminari!" I shook his hand, and I felt a light shock. "Gah!"

Kaminari laughed. "I'm just toying with you, Midoriya. Good luck in the match!"

I smiled and walked into our separate rooms in the same hallway once we got to them. I took some deep breaths before the game started.

 _The ground that the stadium is on is not very conductive, but Kaminari's quirk can force enough electricity to electrify the ground._

 _I need to find a way not to be hit straight on with his electricity, but I need to be able to touch him to force him out of bounds or hit him._

 _I can use wind pressure and smashes in the air to try and blow him out of the way, but I'd have to exhaust my limbs trying to actually blow him somewhere._

 _This will likely be a game of exhaustion and patience. I need to find the right time to strike rather than rushing in and ending the game quickly like I could if I had full control over my quirk._

Aizawa walked into my room to escort me onto the field. When I went onto the field, Kaminari was in his U. A. uniform like everybody else.

We all did the battles in regular uniform attire rather than our hero outfits, because that was simply the rule of the first tournament. We were told that in later tournaments, we would be allowed to use certain support items or costumes.

Present Mic started announcing us off.

"Midoriya vs. Kaminari starts in 3...

2...

1...

BEGIN!"

 _Alright, let's do this._

 _Hm..._

 _Wait..._

 _There's... there's not much going on right now._

 _W... Why?_

Kaminari didn't start the match off with an immediate shock. He stayed observant, with a confident grin on his face, watching to see what I was going to do first.

 _It's clear that he understands the limitations of his quirk. I need to find a way to pressure him into using it, or forcing him into using it. I know trying to rush him down will end badly._

I ran my quirk through my legs. "All right, let's stop standing around and get to fighting, shall we?" I took a quick stride towards Kaminari. 

He walked slowly as I came in at blazing speed. _What is he doing? I can't let him catch me off guard. If he hits me with a full shock, I'll be finished!_

I smiled, trying to hide my questioning thoughts in the back of my mind. I couldn't let him know I was unsure of what he was doing.

He stood still for a moment, and started charging up his quirk. When I got up close to him, I started charging my own quirk in my arm, though I started slowing down.

 _I can't actually hit him. I'll face reprecussions of his quirk, and I won't quite knock him out of borders. I need to bait him into wasting it._ I slowed down, and lifted my arm to signify a punch was coming.

Kaminari relaxed his body and grimaced. _He... did he call my bluff? Did he notice my hesitation?_ He lunged forward with both of his hands, and I had two options.

I could jump back, or I could try to hit him. I went with the latter. _He thinks I'm afraid of his quirk... he's probably trying to collect info on my escape methods under pressure without exhausting his quirk._

I quickly ducked under his arm and ran my quirk through my hand, shoving his stomach. He flew backwards, collapsing on the ground. Not out of bounds yet.

 _I knew it. He was trying to bluff me out. Now is when he'll start actually using his quirk._ I rushed towards him as he got up, and he visibly started charging his quirk.

 _He's going to hit me with full force if I'm not careful, and he's near the side boundary. He's trying to bait me._ As I ran towards him, he once again lunged at me, this time with his actual electrified arms.

I leaped backwards, dodging his attack. _He can't play like this forever, but I can't evade him forever either._

I made another quick dash for him, and he immediately shocked the floor, my legs violently jerking from the shock. _This is bad!_

He ran forwards and punched me hard in the chest, knocking me over near the boundary. He ran up to me, as if to kick me out of bounds.

I saw the electricity sparking off of his uniform as he ran towards me. _This is really bad!_ I needed to turn around the scenario. So close to the boundary, this could result in a win.

I ran my quirk through my legs, and did a turn around flip from a squat position. His foot ran under me as I flipped over him. _Retaining this balance is tricky... and this is gonna look flashy, but I have a reason._

I ran One for All through my arm as I landed onto the ground at around a five foot distance away from him. I held it backwards. "Detroit..."

"SMASH!" I threw my fist right up to his back, without even hitting him. Just getting near his body made my arm hair stand up on end due to the electric charge.

The manuever went over smoothly and my turnaround worked just as planned. The wind blew Kaminari off of the ground and a bit into the air, propelling him out of bounds. My arm was worked, but not broken or bruised.

"Midoriya blows Kaminari out of bounds with an INSANE jump over his opponent into a carefully timed punch! Midoriya moves on, defeating Kaminari in the FASTEST match of the tournament so far!" exclaimed Present Mic.

 _That was fast? I have to admit, time feels slower to me in battle._ **Kaminari stood up and turned around, awestruck. "T-That... was like lightning! N-No pun intended of course."**

I held out my hand for a handshake. "Good match."

"Y-Yeah... I'm scared now..." he shook my hand, and his hand was shaking. _Did I really move that quickly with that flip?_

I walked back to the lobby where everyone else was watching the games on screens. The teachers and administrators wanted the pre-test to be free of distractions.

Uraraka ran to me before I even made it to the lobby. "DEKU! I had no idea you could do that!" She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. "I'm so proud!"

I blushed hard when she let go. "N-Neither did I, Uraraka!"

"That was CRAZY! You finished him off so quickly! And that punch was so strong it had a gust of wind behind it, almost like one at the entrance exam!"

"U-Uraraka, your match is next! Shouldn't you be preparing for it?" Uraraka paused, and then her face went pale she looked puzzled.

She then looked embarrassed, and her face turned pink. "Y-Yeah! I'm fighting Tsu! W-Wish me luck!" She ran off into the lobby.

Iida came back down the hallway. "Man, she sure is riled up about that. Everybody's mouth dropped at that flip though, great mobility and position reversal!"

"Thanks, Iida. A-About her... I..."

"Uraraka?"

"Yeah. I have a question if you can answer it." I looked down at the ground.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Do... do you think she likes me?" Iida's face widened at the question. _Did I catch him off guard?_ "Sorry, is that a bit weird?"

"No, no. I'm just... a bit... s-surprised! Have you been thinking about maybe dating-"

"Shh!!!" I said quickly, interrupting him. "A... a bit... yes..."

"So you have the hots for her?"

"Y-Yes! Now answer the question!" _Why can't he get to the point?_

"I... I'll let you in on who she likes. But you can't tell anyone who it is, and you can't tell anyone, especially her, that I said it."

"No."

Iida was caught off-guard. "H-Huh?"

"If she doesn't like me, then I don't want to know. It'd be unfair for me to know, and nothing good would come out of it. I'd probably just get jealous a-"

"Midoriya, it is you!"

My face lit up, and I looked at Iida with my eyes practically falling out of their sockets. I paused for a bit before talking, and Iida just let me have some time.

I covered my face and collected my thoughts briefly. "I-I-I knew something w-was up!"

"What something's up?" Uraraka came to my side, with Asui next to her as well.

"AAGH!" I exclaimed. "I-I didn't see you there!"

"I'm sorry, Deku. But what is it? Tell me now; I have to go to the match!"

"Spill it, ribbit."

 _I... I can't think or talk too confidently right now..._

"I-It's nothing. I'll be sure to tell... to tell you after the... uh... match! The match!" My face was burning, and I scratched the back of my head.

"Are you okay, Midoriya? You seem pretty uneasy right now-"

"I'm fine! Really! Good luck with your match, you two!"

The two shrugged and left. Once they were gone, Iida gave me a look.

"How are you going to ask her out again if you can't even talk straight to her face?"

"I-I don't know, man! I don't know!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Iida -

We were back in the lobby, and Midoriya was still on the topic of Uraraka. Her match was going on right now, actually.

"I... I still feel oddly afraid to do anything despite the fact that we actually went out at one point."

I stopped and thought here. _Should I tell him I already know all this stuff because I'm practically Uraraka's psychiatrist?_

 _No, not for now. I know by telling him she likes him too it'll end well, but I don't want to compile extra embarrassment._ "What? You did?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Nice job. Did it go pretty well? Any signs that she might like you?"

"We... held hands..."

"What? Shouldn't it be obvious?"

"Yeah, I know, but I still can't-"

Bakugo came over and interrupted me. "What are you nerds talking about?"

"AGH!" Deku squealed again. "Geez, Kacchan."

"What do you want?"

"What were you guys talking about?"

"O-Oh, n-nothing! We were just discussing... u-uh..." _Damn. Izuku just suddenly can't talk now... he is a terrible liar all of a sudden..._

"We were discussing match-ups for the tournament. He's concerned about how he's probably going to play Todoroki. Knock it-"

"Oh, so he knows now too?"

 _Wait, Bakugo knows?_ "Knows what?"

"N-No! It wasn't that! It was-"

"You know, Deku's little... crush." He spoke oddly quietly, as if he were trying to hide the secret.

 _Wait, he told Bakugo? What the heck was he thinking?_ "Don't speak too loudly, Kacchan!"

"Midoriya! Why'd you tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Kirishima came up behind me. He probably came here because Bakugo left his little posse behind.

"N-Nothing! Absolutely nothing!"

"Both of you go away! I was talking to Midoriya first!" I signalled, a bit too loudly.

"Hey, what's going on here?" said Mina, walking up to us.

Midoriya hid face under his arms on the table. "I swear... it's nothing... just go away..."

"Are you okay, Midoriya?" she asked.

He looked up, and his face was beet red. "I'm fine, just leave me be."

Kirishima grew a sinister smile on his face. "Hey... I think I know what's happening here."

Midoriya looked up at him, still blushing furiously, and had a concerned look on his face. "Y-You do?"

"That's enough," said Bakugo. "Leave the damn nerd alone." He started walking back to the table where Kirishima, Kaminari and Sero were hanging out. But they were all now hanging around my table.

Now that I looked around, most of the class was around my table looking at Izuku.

"What is it?" said Hagakure. "Are you hiding a secret?"

"No, no, no! Just stop it!" said Midoriya, hiding his face on the table. I heard a bunch of people talking now, theorizing on what was going on.

"Come on, it's not a big deal! Do you have a crush on someone?"

"What's the big holdup here?"

"Why was Iida being so loud? What happened?"

"Why is Midoriya so embarrassed?"

Tons of people just kept talking. I didn't like this. Not one bit. _This is starting to get out of hand... nobody's even watching the matches anymore! They're all focused here!_

"EVERYONE, SHUT UP!" I shouted.

"Iida, geez! What's happening?" Uraraka walked in to hear me screaming at the class.

There was an awkward silence. Nobody said a word. They all just sort of glared at Uraraka, and then slowly and silently made their way back to their tables. Midoriya lifted his head, now finally looking a bit normal.

"Oh, and Deku, what was it that you were talking to Iida about? You seemed so flustered."

Everyone heard that, and they all turned to look at Izuku. He hesitated briefly. "Oh! I... uh... um..." _Just talk, dude!_ "We weren't..."

Midoriya looked up at the classroom, who all were now staring at his face which had gone back to the same color it was previously.

I saw everyone's faces. You could hear a pin drop in the hallway. Many had different reactions.

Kirishima nodded his head, as if to say 'Yep, I knew it'. I heard Mina whisper to Hagakure, who then gasped.

Momo covered her mouth in disbelief. Her expression essentially signified 'Oh, shoot'. I heard Bakugo silently mutter to himself 'Agh, shit.'

"Deku, what's-"

"ARGH, FUCK!" He ran out of the room, covering his face from everyone. I wanted to run after him because he wasn't supposed to leave the lobby according to the teachers, but that's not important right now.

I sighed. _This is why they should have at least ONE teacher here. Nobody'll listen fully to me, and of course I happen to screw this up._

"Iida...? What just happened?"

"I... I... don't... know."

"Does this have something to do with what he told you in the hallway?"

"It's not a big deal. I might tell you later. But, can you go outside for a bit?"

"Yeah, what for?"

"I need to talk to the class real quick about their behavior. You heard me yelling, right?"

"Yeah. It was pretty muffled, but-"

"Good, good!" I started pushing her back. "I'll get you in a second. Be right back! Bye!"

"But wai-" I closed the door and turned around to the class. "All right, here's the deal."

Nobody spoke a word. They all still gave their undivided attention to me. Normally, this is what I would want. But I don't like it now because I know it's just because I'm Midoriya's friend and they found out something about him.

"Midoriya likes Uraraka?" Mineta said confusedly.

 _Of course it had to be you... But I have an idea._ "Okay, yes. It's true." The entire class started talking again. "HEY, I'M NOT DONE!"

"It was a bit obvious in my opinion..." Kirishima muttered.

"I don't care right now. Midoriya is flustered because he thinks she'll find out. And he's going to be the one to tell her, you hear?"

An awkward silence came across the class. "Okay, if Uraraka finds out because ANYONE besides Midoriya himself, I'll give a bad report to Mr. Aizawa and you'll have some terrible regrets. Am I clear?"

The class just looked at me. "Yes, Iida," they said quietly.

I slammed a desk. "ARE WE CLEAR?"

"Yes sir!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I had come back to the lobby after beating Asui narrowly, and Iida forced me out of the class to talk about something.

Iida eventually let me back into the lobby, and everyone seemed more quiet. I heard some yelling, but couldn't really tel what was going on or make out what he was saying.

"Iida, be honest. Was that about what Deku was doing?"

"No, I promise."

"Okay, I believe you."

The next matches were being played, and the teachers had later come to our rooms and asked the losers to come with them.

Apparently, they decided to finish up the tournament today rather than tomorrow and they played the losers in another stadium.

They had two TVs going at once to look at both games, though most crowded around the winners' table.

Most of the rest of bracket went as expected. Bakugo defeated Aoyama in dominant fashion, with just two blasts. The match started with Aoyama firing a laser.

Bakugo then went towards him with a huge blast from his left and blew him out of bounds with his right. It took Deku's spot as the quickest win in the tournament.

Iida defeated Sero, as he was unable to get a solid grip on him before he was kicked out of bounds. Literally.

Todoroki defeated Mineta, mainly because he threw up ice walls to block the projectile balls and Mineta was forced out of bounds by the fire. Kirishima and Shoji was the only match that resulted in an ending where the opponent WASN'T out of bounds. Kirishima ended up knocking out Shoji.

(A/N: Here are the losers' results because I'm not summarizing every single battle:

L: Asui Jiro

Kaminari Koda

Ojiro Sato

Mina Hagakure

(R2)

Asui Shoji

Kaminari Mineta

Ojiro Sero

Mino Aoyama)

We were now in the next round of winners. Bakugo played against Momo first. Momo was once again on the defensive.

Bakugo was relentless in his offense. It was very calculated, but Momo was more spot on with her gameplay. Every time Bakugo was barely off the mark, Momo would ran his stomach with her shield, knocking him over.

She got in a couple of good hits, but his juggernaut offense was a much easier game to play, leading her to be forced out of bounds.

Iida played Tokoyami next. Tokoyami opted to use Dark Shadow as more of an armor and offensive enhancer than as a separate entity like usual, which worked out pretty well for him.

Iida had a strong edge in mobility, but could not fend off Dark Shadow earlier on, which he realized early, and played a hit-and-run style.

Tokoyami was then forced to use Dark Shadow to reach out and attack Iida, as he couldn't catch up to him normally. This nearly resulted in Iida falling out of bounds multiple times. The class was really on edge watching this one.

But this left Tokoyami open to Iida's advances as he no longer had armor. Iida rushed in with a Recipro Burst and knocked him all the way across the battleground out of bounds, leading to a good, but tight victory.

Deku was now up to face Todoroki. Todoroki was in the room when he left, but Deku wasn't. We all saw him when he went up to the battleground on the TV, though.

Everybody in the classroom was watching this rematch. Now that Deku had been able to control his quirk, he had a much better chance at winning. But now Todoroki would use both sides the whole game.

"START FIGHTING IN 3...

2...

1...

FIGHT!"

Just like last match, Todoroki started with a wall of ice. Deku crushed it with a smash, which had no visible effect on his arm, unlike last time. It was clear: Todoroki couldn't stay back anymore. He had to fight.

Though Todoroki didn't. He opted to stay back and fire walls of ice, a light flame imbuing his body to heat up his colder half.

This continued on for a while, until Deku made a giant leap above the wall of ice. The class gasped in astonishment.

He then started leaping across the ice. "Midoriya is the first to advance on his classmate, using his own projectile as terrain!"

He jumped down about halfway across, and smashed half of the ice into Todoroki from the middle. He ducked and put up a shield of flame to protect from the flying ice.

Deku lunged in quickly, now that Todoroki was still on the defense, but he was prepared for it. He dodged to the right to avoid the smash, placing his hand on Deku's chest.

He released a large cube of ice, completely enveloping Deku's body. _No! It can't end here!_

"Todoroki immobilizes his opponent in a swift and efficient counterattack! Todoroki moves on!" The class sighed and walked back.

But the body enveloped in ice was still fully conscious, and his skin was starting to glow. Todoroki didn't notice. I was the only one who did.

"Deku...?"

The ice around him flew off, shattering in the air, and Deku jumped into Todoroki and punched him with great force, flying him into the other side of the stage which still had half of the previous ice wall.

The ice broke when his back hit it, implying that he flew back with high momentum, and probably hurt him a good bit. "What's this? Midoriya is still alive! He's still moving!" The class ran back to the TV.

Deku lunged towards Todoroki, who was now less able to move than before. But he wasn't helpless. He stomped on the ground, creating an ice pillar that rose up and hit Deku in the chin, uppercutting him upwards.

Deku flew up, then fell down to the ground. _Deku! That looked like it hurt!_ "And Midoriya advances him again, only to be victim of a perfectly counterattack by Todoroki! This is a lot of action considering their last battle!"

Todoroki raised his flames and ran after Deku, who jumped higher on the side of the pillar where Todoroki couldn't see him. When Todoroki got to the other side, he continued running, believing that Deku had went around.

But Deku jumped down and smashed Todoroki's back again, as he flew right next to the boundary. "Todoroki is forced near the boundary! This could be it!"

Deku rushed in for a final blow, but was once again predicted. Todoroki grabbed his wrist with his left hand and raised it, as he didn't use his quirk for this attack. He then did another ice push with his tight, and then immediately followed him by riding on ice created by his foot.

Deku got up more slowly, and Todoroki rode the ice higher to create walls from skating on the previous ice he made. He encircled Deku, who did a smash through one of the walls when he realized was being trapped.

But Todoroki was already waiting for him, who shoved him back into the small circle encased in ice, his enflamed hand put directly above Deku's face.

Fire had now enveloped his entire body, except his foot, which was placed on Deku's stomach as he had fallen down. "Give up or be burnt to a crisp," he said in an aloof manner.

Deku didn't have a choice. He raised his hands. "And Todoroki moves on, forcing Midoriya's hand after an insane tactical ice cage and reaction by Todoroki! Good on both contenders for fighting despite the drastic blows on one another!"

Todoroki put out his fire and walked off of the battlefield.

 **To be continued...**


	13. Day 11 (Part 2): First Tournament

**Day 11 of 21 - Part 2**

\- POV - Deku -

I groaned after getting up. My face felt hot and almost burned from the fire from Todoroki's left half. I placed my hand on my face.

 _Gosh darnit... I lost again to the same person._

I stood up and walked off the stadium. Once I got to the hallway, I saw Todoroki. "Hey, I'm sorry for sounding like a jerk there. I had to do what I had to do."

"No, don't worry. I got you. Good luck for the rest of the tournament."

We didn't talk much after that. He was probably afraid of me overreacting after me yelling in the lobby. _Crap... I have to see Ochaco after this..._

I went back into the lobby room. All eyes were on me, though I just played it off and went to sit with Iida and Uraraka.

Iida patted my shoulder as I sat down. I wanted to talk, but words didn't come out. My lips began to tremble, and I hid my face on the table.

"Deku, are you alright?" I slowly started to cry. Not very loudly, but people luckily decided to leave me alone. Except for the two that I actually were okay with talking to, in Iida and Uraraka.

"Midoriya, you played that much better. You'll get him next time." said Iida.

 _Am I ever going to improve at enough of a rate to get over Todoroki? Or Bakugo? Or anyone who is at the top echelon for that matter?_ "T-Thanks."

I continued to cry for a little bit, but it wasn't awful. I wasn't bawling. It was very light. Today was just not going very well for me. I'm surprised Uraraka doesn't know I like her. At least she hasn't said anything about it. Or at least she's playing it off like that.

 _Wait... nobody's said anything. What is up with that? This can't possibly be natural!_ I was tapped on the shoulder, and I looked up to see Uraraka. Two people were called, though I didn't hear their names.

Uraraka stood next to my chair. "Deku, I have to go fight Kirishima." She squeezed my hand under the table. "I hope you'll feel better. Wish me luck!"

I gawked. "U-Uraraka?! You're fighting-"

"There's no time to strategize. There's no time to worry. I'm going to go out there and do my best. I'll see you soon, Deku. Bye, Iida." She walked off, flashing a peace sign and smiling.

 _She's... she's doing better at smiling in the bad times than I am... and that's one of All Might's hallmarks! Now I know how Bakugo feels to have someone advancing upon my standards and beating me at my own game!_

 _At least I like this person, so it's not really as much of a pain to be overtaken. And this is only one game result. I have a chance to win it back in the losers' side of the bracket._

"Midoriya, do you think you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, thank you, Iida."

I stayed in the room, patiently awaiting Uraraka and Kirishima's game. Momo and Kaminari were playing on the other set up, which more people were watching, but I didn't care.

"The next contenders, fighting in Winners Quarterfinals, are Ejiro Kirishima, with the quirk Hardening, and Ochaco Uraraka, with the quirk Zero Gravity! Prepare to fight!"

 _This is it. This could be a big win for her. I believe in her._

"BATTLE STARTS IN 3...

2...

1...

FIGHT!"

Ochaco carefully analyzed her opponents' beginning strategies. Kirishima opted to stay back and harden his arms, likely to throw out some blows in the fight.

 _She can't get too greedy. Uraraka may have had combat training, but I doubt she could stand more than a couple blows from Kirishima, and that's assuming they don't push her out of bounds._

"Both students are starting off very conservative with their advances, but Uraraka will be the first to start rushing in!" Ochaco made a dash towards Kirishima.

 _Please tell me this was calculated and that she has a plan for this..._ The gap was narrowing quickly. Kirishima had to throw a punch.

If Uraraka would manage to use her quirk on him, his mobility would become much more awkward, and she could be able to even the playing field.

When Ochaco got into point blank range, Kirishima threw out a punch with his left fist to throw her off, but she predicted it and tried to go in for a brief touch to use her quirk.

However, this was interrupted by an immediate retaliation with a kick from Kirishima's right leg. He had won the game of predictions. I also noticed that he was barefoot for some reason.

 _Why would he...?_ "Kirishima predicts the exacts of Uraraka's first advance and lands a solid hit!" He started to rush down Uraraka, who had fallen back a bit.

He grabbed her by the wrist and threw her sideways closer to the boundary. "Kirishima wants to end this right now, not even a minute into the match!"

Uraraka fell right by the side border, and Kirishima rushed in to throw one final blow to get her out of bounds when she jumped over him.

She had activated her quirk on herself and floated above a punch from Kirishima. Circulating above his head, she released herself mid air and landed behind him, and did a back kick.

The kick didn't send Kirishima anywhere, but he almost fell out, as he was turning when he got kicked in the side. 

"Uraraka pulls of a flip to immediate retaliation, similar to Midoriya's leap into smash against Kaminari! That's what I'm talking about! Here's where the action is!" People in the lobby came to congregate over to this setup now.

Uraraka ran back after realizing her kick didn't do anything. His foundations were too strong. She _had a chance to use your quirk, but she instead tried to end it all. That's okay, but she needs to find another opening!_

Kirishima gave chase, but then stood still and hardened his legs. Uraraka then turned around and did another jump, removing her own gravity. 

She grabbed Kirishima by the head and tried to pull when she released her gravity, but Kirishima didn't budge. She landed behind him, and became victim to an elbow from behind, hitting her in the stomach, and then a turnaround punch, knocking her away.

"Kirishima withstands another graceful manuever from Uraraka and punishes her strongly for it! This is a surprisingly very physical match!"

Uraraka clenched her stomach when she got up. _Oh no... you can do this! Don't give up!_ She then sprinted towards Kirishima one more time. _Ah! Don't get reckless though!_

"Uraraka makes one more rush!" She got into a squat to prepare for a jump, which Kirishima anticipated and looked upwards to try and grab her leg. _This is it! She'll be thrown out!_

But... she didn't jump! She ran towards him and shoved him over, as he had released his hardened supports, activating her quirk on him. Uraraka now had a tactical disadvantage.

"Uraraka finally gets Kirishima with her singature Zero Gravity! Kirishima's strong core will now be less effective!"

Oddly enough, Kirishima didn't start to fly up into the air after he got up. _How is he... ah! That's why he was barefoot!_

His toes were dug into the ground, preventing him from going into the air and stopping this from becoming an aerial battle.

Uraraka's legs were grabbed in the confusion, and she was thrown away by Kirishima. She flew towards the boundary again, but barely missed it. "She survives!"

Kirishima tried to make it over to Uraraka, but moving without flying into the air proved to be too difficult, so he was now rooted to his own spot. Uraraka stayed and focused.

The two stared at each other. Our entire class was now watching this. We were all on the edge of our seats. Somebody was bound to make a move and attack the opponent. But then...

"Kirishima may be unable to move! This could be a close win for Ochaco Uraraka!" yelled Present Mic.

"Ejiro Kirishima, you must be able to move to be eligible to stay in the match. You cannot be immobilized if you want to win. Move now or lose the match," said Aizawa over the microphone to the stadium.

Kirishima fell to the ground and used his hands to root himself in, but lost the gripping on his feet, causing his bottom half to raise in midair. Uraraka took the opportunity and ran in, kicking his chest with all of her might.

Kirishima flew out off the ground slightly above, and upwards outside of the boundary. He was unable to stop his backward momentum in midair. She finally released him when he flew out of bounds, and he fell onto the ground outside of the boundary.

"What a great use of her quirk! Uraraka forces Kirishima out of bounds, resulting in a huge upset! Uraraka moves on to face Todoroki in Winners Semifinals!" The class cheered. 

Nobody expected a combat type quirk like Kirishima to be defeated by Uraraka. I was astonished. _I knew this was possible... why am I so..._

I went back and sat down at the table, not really saying anything. I was surprised, happy, and enormously proud of what she had done against a nearly pure combat quirk.

"Midoriya, are you all right?" said Iida.

"Yeah. You were watching from the beginnimg, correct?"

"Yeah, that was crazy! She got up so quickly from those hits, and those flips! That was insane!"

"Yeah, I know! I've never seen more fluid aerial movement, unless Shoji was gliding."

Uraraka came back into class, and everybody clapped for her. She grinned as she walked over to our table.

"Uraraka!" Iida and I said simultaneously.

"I did it!"

"I knew you could do it! You used your quirk in an impressive and efficient fashion, and that movement! My goodness!" said Iida.

"You might not believe me based on my reaction before the match, but I knew you could do it."

"Oh did you? You seemed the most startled, Deku!" She hit me in the shoulder.

"No, really! Your quirk is really good against highly physical opponents. But against those like Bakugo who you can't touch, things get much trickier. Though this was a way hard match-up, and I'm so glad you did it!"

"Yeah, you're guaranteed fifth! Beat Todoroki and you'll be guaranteed a spot in the top four."

"Thanks, Iida." Uraraka walked over to me and whispered in my ear. "I did learn that flip idea from you, just so you know. I got that idea from your match against Kaminari."

 _Wait, what?_ "You... you did?"

"Yeah! I've never really thought about doing turnarounds like thag until you did that game-winner against Kaminari."

I felt my face go red. "I-I thought that might've been something you learned in combat training!"

She nodded her head 'no'. We then heard a noise over the intercom. "Katsuki Bakugo and Tenya Iida, please come to the stadium for the first match of Winners Semifinals!"

"Good luck, Iida!" said Uraraka.

"You've got this, dude!" I said.

"Thanks, guys!" he left, along with Bakugo who looked a bit salty that I didn't tell him good luck, but honestly, it'd be a bit stale for him to win another tournament. I want something different.

Bakugo and Iida were headed to the preparation room to get ready for the match. I want back to the table in front of the first set up.

 _Iida is going to need to find away around the giant explosions that Bakugo puts out. And if he does, Bakugo is going to want to either land a solid hit to blow him out of bounds or make them bigger so that they are unavoidable._

I turned back to look at the other setup. Kirishima had started his match against Ojiro. Two primarily physical quirks were going to be facing off. I think I'd favor Kirishima to win due to his higher capacity and similar physical output.

Ojiro has an edge in mobility and speed, especially in terrain with buildings or obstacles around that he can swing off of, but this is an open battleground, and chances are that Kirishima won't strike the ground to create stone obstructions or structures for him to swing off of.

 _If Ojiro wins, it'll be on speed, not durability. If Kirishima wins, the match will probably be taken a bit slower. His win would be based on strength and durability._

"Hey, Deku?"

"Oh, hey."

"What are you muttering about?"

"Oh, I was just looking at the match-ups of Ojiro and Kirishima."

"I want to tell you something really quickly about your flips."

"Uraraka, I want you to stop praising me for them. They're something that-"

"That is what I wanted to talk about!" She looked a bit frustrated almost. "Do you think a strong U. A. student wouldn't learn from others? I've learned not to give up, to fight until the end, to break out of tough spots, and learned specific combat maneuvers since the start of school."

 _Huh?_ "Deku, I apologize if you think I'm praising you too much, but I hope you don't let this break you down like it did at one point. You don't need to pay me back for anything. I'm already learning, not just from you, but from everyone here!"

I smiled. _That IS the embodiment of a U. A. student._ _I need to take after certain qualities of Uraraka as well._

"Thanks, Uraraka. I've learned plenty from you. I've learned to be more selfless, to think outside of the box, and to be more generous with my thoughts thanks to you alone. You live up to my own expectations of a hero better than I do sometimes. I think we both learned a good but from one another."

A tear slid down Uraraka's eye as she estatically smiled, but then we heard Present Mic's booming voice and turned towards the TV for Iida's match.

"BATTLE STARTS IN 3...

2...

1...

FIGHT!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

"Quick, let's watch the match!" Deku said to me. We walked over to the closest seats. He would've stayed, but him and Mina were just called to fight.

Iida opened up by rushing in very quickly. Bakugo threw out and explosion, pushing him back. "Barely a second passed and Bakugo already blocked an advance from Iida!"

Iida stayed back and looked at Bakugo, who was smiling devilishly. He wanted to run in, but had no clue how to avoid the explosions.

Bakugo did nothing. He just watched and laughed as Iida seemed to get angrier and angrier. But then Iida took a breath and rushed in quickly.

Bakugo once again threw out an explosion, but Iida slowed up and covered his face before it reached him. He rushed back into the explosion.

Bakugo was left in the smoke of his previous explosion, which Iida came out of. He delivered a solid roundhouse to his chin, knocking him away. "Iida predicts Bakugo's explosion and uses the smoke screen to land a strong kick!"

Iida appeared to have turned the tables, and now Bakugo was the angry one. He must have not liked being allowed to be outsmarted. He then made the advance.

Iida ran in and slowed preemptively expecting an explosion, but Bakugo jumped into the air and flew down with a large explosive blast. Iida noticed and ran out, but his legs were caught in the explosion as he landed.

"Bakugo lands a huge hit on Iida's engine legs! This could hinder their ability if he hits them strong enough!" Iida stayed back, and Bakugo jumped up, and stayed in the sky with his explosions.

 _Oh no... I've seen what Bakugo can do in the festival with his Howitzer Impact!_ Iida rushed in and made a huge leap for Bakugo, planning to reach him first. "It seems a huge aerial strike is going to take place!"

"Recipro..."

"Howitzer..."

"BUUUUUURST!"

"IMPAAAAAACT!"

Iida's leg made contact first, but the explosion was considerably more powerful. The entire camera was enveloped. The class gasped as a whole.

"Iida!" said I exclaimed worriedly.

The smoke cleared, and Iida was laying flat on the ground, with his legs emitting smoke and his body burnt. _He... he might be hurt!_

Bakugo was found out of bounds, holding his stomach where Iida had landed the kick. "That was INSANE! What happened, Aizawa?"

"Bakugo is out of bounds, but Iida is currently unconscious. The win will go to Bakugo, who advances on to Winners Finals."

Bakugo went up onto the field where Iida was laying and started to tap him on the shoulder to wake him up. He didn't get up.

Deku and Mina were already back in the classroom. "How'd it go?"

"I won. It was a matter of mobility, which I had the advantage in, and I managed to get around Mina's defensive acid walls and land a smash."

"Wow! That was quick. Iida's probably injured." I looked back to the screen and he and Bakugo were slowly walking back to the hallway, and Iida was being assisted by Bakugo.

"K-Kacchan's helping Iida? That's... I haven't seen that kind of sportsmanship from him before."

"What do you think caused it?"

"Hm... maybe it's because Iida fought with all of his might? How did he do?"

"The match ended with Howitzer Impact va. Recipro Burst. It was pretty intense. Bakugo was out of bounds, but was given the win over Iida, who was knocked out for a while."

"Yeah. I'm assuming he took Iida very seriously. This is rare behavior from Iida."

(A/N: The winners are displayed first before the losers, sorry. I used a greater than symbol to signify it but the stupid app deleted it, so sorry for the confusion yesterday.

Anyways, here are the results for the losers' round:

Midoriya Mina

Momo Kaminari

Tokoyami Asui

Kirishima Ojiro)

I was called up to face Todoroki next. My nerves kicked in as soon as I heard his name. _T-Todoroki?!_

Deku realized my stress, grabbed my shoulders, and turned me towards him. "You can do better than I can. You already did against Kirishima. I know that this is possible."

"B-But Deku! Todoroki's quirk is mo-"

"Uraraka, this is the advice you gave me before your game with Kirishima: 'There's no time to strategize. There's no time to worry. I'm going to go out there and do my best.'"

I gasped in surprise. _H-He's learning from me too!_ "You can do this just like you did last game! I know you can." I stared at him in shock, and nodded slowly. "Now give him all you've got!"

I ran off. "I will!"

 **(Transitional Thing Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

 _Honestly, I'm certain she'll lose this if she can't force Todoroki to use his ice quirk. Otherwise, there's no terrain to move around or obstacles to use and she'll just be forced out by his fire._

"Izuku Midoriya and Ejiro Kirishima, please come to the secondary stadium." _I can't worry right now, I have things to do._

I walked off with Kirishima to the secondary stadium and held my fist out for a fist bump. I smiled, told him good luck, and we went to the preparation rooms.

 _There's no way I'll be able to knock him out. I'll have to get him out of bounds somehow, but just like against Uraraka, he's barefoot. He'll try to root himself into the ground._

 _I have two options for victory. I can exhaust his quirk and constantly throw smashes at his body, forcing him to play defensive and exhaust his quirk_

 _Or I can force him to play offensive by staying back and tricking him into being forced out of bounds._

 _I don't think I'll be able to force him to play offensive unless I think of something. Come on, think, think, think! How can I force an offensive Kirishima?_

 _Could I just constantly harass him with smashes, but stay back while doing so? Every time I do it, he'll gather info and possibly predict where I'll go and counterhold me._

 _Dang, Uraraka's quirk really served her well in the match-up, but it required just as much strategy if not more than my own scenario!_

 _I need to-_

Aizawa came into my room. "Good luck, Midoriya. It's time to go."

I walked out onto the battleground. Present Mic wasn't here, he was at the primary stadium.

But All Might was already jumping with excitement. He was ready to see an action heavy battle, with his own successor at the cornerstone.

"All right, U. A. students! Start fighting in

3...

2...

1...

GO!"

I lunged forward and ran my quirk into my fists and arms. Kirishima readied his quirk and switched into defensive mode.

I let out a barrage of slams and punches, none of which did anything to his defensive position. But he was being pushed back. _If I can just do this a bit longer..._

I didn't have time to finish my thought, as I was interrupted by him grabbing my arm and smashing me into the ground. _Gah! He grabbed my quick smashes!_

 _I can't attack any stronger without getting counterattacked or hurting myself, and I can't run any faster without punching too weak!_

He tried to lift me up and throw me out, but I jumped back before he could grab me when I was on the ground. I stayed back.

"Come on, come over here!" He walked slowly to me, but he wasn't advancing on me. He was just getting away from the boundary line he was so close to.

 _Damnit!_ I rushed forward as he locked his toes into the concrete floor, and this time I didn't push him back at all. But I kept on pushing. _He's bound to run out of juice sooner or later!_

But once again, he grabbed me and threw me away. I landed on the ground. _He didn't try to push me out; he just went for positional advan-_

My thoughts were once again interrupted. This time, Kirishima had run over and punched me in the chest to push me out. I was dazed, but got out of it quickly. Before he could hit me again, I dashed to the other side of the field in an instant.

 _His fist increased in mass, but the punch was slower. It only hit me because I wasn't paying attention._

 _Wait... that's it! He can't hit me with more force, but his mass increases! So his strength doesn't increase, but his mass does! So I can use my advantage in strength to..._

Kirishima strengthened his body, dug in his toes, and remained in defensive position. He grimaced at me mockingly. I smashed the ground with strong power, created a gust of wind that flew by him.

He wasn't moved anywhere by the dust or the wind blown at him, but now the terrain was split up into chunks. "What's the problem, little man? Frustrated?"

I picked up one of the big chunks of concrete derived from the smash and hurled it at him. He prepared to catch it, but was knocked over.

 _I knew it! He can handle the impact, but he can't catch it himself! He can't fight back unless he gets in close!_ I grabbed more and threw them in quicker succession. He had no choice but to defend.

Each hit pushed him back further and further. He had no time to dig in the ground, and even the one time I had to take more time to get more concrete, it pushed him out.

Eventually, he got too close to the boundary. He knew he couldn't stay in that position forever. I waited and then threw one last stone.

Right as he tried to rush back for more breathing room from the boundary, it had smashed him right in the chest. He had taken the hit, but he flew back out of bounds.

"Izuku Midoriya sets up a deadly projectile from the battleground itself, and forces Kirishima out of bounds! Iida and Midoriya will now play in Losers Quarterfinals to see who will make it into the top 4!"

 _I-Iida? Is he in fighting shape? Can he fight me? Will I have to get a disadvantage?_ Kirishima walked over to me and held out his hand. "That was genius play with that rock smash. I had no idea what you were doing. Good game."

"Great job predicting my smashes and counterholding me. You've really got fighting talent."

"Yeah. I just need to learn to use my quirk in a more unique and powerful manner."

"Yeah. Uraraka and I both have ways to use our quirks in really special or unexpected ways, while your quirk is simple, but strong. You'll be sure to rise back up in the rankings once you get the hang of this whole thing."

"Thanks, man. Good luck against Iida."

"Thanks, bye!"

I walked off back into the hallway. _That was a bit of a cheap play for me, but I had to force it. At least I know that I have that option to use against defensive people like Todoroki._

 _I'm a bit concerned about fighting Iida. His speed rivals me, but I'm stronger. But his Recipro Burst is better than my Shoot Style, and I have no way to clog his motor legs. I will need to play carefully._

 _And is he in shape to fight me at all? How is the fight going to go down if Bakugo knocked him unconscious and probably bruised them terribly in their fight?_

I walked back into the lobby. Uraraka ran to me, jumping in excitement. "DEKU, YOU MADE TOP 4! You're going to be fighting against the top 4 in Class 1-A tomorrow!"

"W-What are you talking about? That distinction goes to either Iida and I! We still have to fight."

"Iida resigned. He said he's too injured to fight you. But you'll have to face the winner of Momo and I once we're done!"

"I-I might have to fight you?!"

"Yeah... maybe that's where my run will end. I just got destroyed by Todoroki."

"Really? What happened?"

"He rushed towards me in the beginning with his fire quirk. I had no choice but to be burnt to a crisp or go out of bounds. It's a really unfortunate match-up, and it's the new fastest game finish behind Bakugo v. Aoyama."

"Oh, that's a bummer. I'm sorry."

"No, it wasn't a surprise. I just can't see how I can beat him if there's no way for me to touch him, because his stupid fire makes it impossible."

"Yeah, that's a tricky can of worms."

 _I feel really bad for Iida. I honestly wish that we could've fought; it would have made for a compelling match. Now it's between Uraraka/Momo and I for third place in Losers Semifinals._

"Ochaco Uraraka and Momo Yaoyorozu, please advance to the stadium for your fight."

 _Not the secondary stadium? The main stadium? I thought losers matches were to be played in the secondary stadium._

All Might went onto the intercom to answer my question. "To give the contestants some time to rest, we will now order the events in a specific order. Losers Quarters match right now, then Winners Finals, then Losers Semis, Losers Finals, and Grand Finals to give the contestants as much time as possible to recover."

 _Makes sense. I'll get to watch Uraraka's match in that case._ I went over to Iida, who was sitting at a table by himself. "Hey, are you really so injured that you can't play me?"

"Yeah, I had a major concussion and had to go to recovery girl. I could fight you, but I'd be extremely slow and tired. I can still watch, though."

"Oh, I'm sorry you couldn't make it."

"That's okay. At least I might get to watch you fight Class 1-B tomorrow."

"Thanks, Iida. You're the best." I high-fived him and then sat down. "How did Momo defeat Tokoyami?"

"I'm not sure how this came to her mind, but she made these little Russian doll things. I was confused at first, but it turns out that they were flash grenades in disguise."

"What?!"

"Yeah, I know! Once she used them on Dark Shadow, she just had to physically get Tokoyami out of bounds, which she could then use her weapons against the quirkless Tokoyami."

"That was really smart. Why didn't she do that the last time they fought?"

"I don't know. Maybe she wasn't aware of Dark Shadow's weakness to light, or she didn't know how to make the grenades at first."

 _Oh, that's right! It was only revealed until after he fought Bakugo that Dark Shadow was weak to light. Momo must have gotten that and learned how to make those for the match-up. No wonder she's one of the big thinkers in our class._

The match between Momo and Uraraka was starting. _Come on, Uraraka. Win this and we'll fight together against Class 1-B._

"BATTLE STARTS IN 3...

2...

1...

FIGHT!"

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Momo gave a respectful bow before the match started. "I trust this'll be a good fight, Ochaco."

I bowed back and flashed a smile. _She's so noble!_ "You bet! Good luck!"

Momo then created a shield and an iron bat and charged towards me. _I don't have any sort of support or assisting items to aid me in the battle._

 _I have two choices: I can get rid of them or I can steal them._ I opted to get rid of them, as Momo could probably create some sort of item to counter the ones I steal. So when she lunged towards me with the bat, swinging with her right, I dodged to the right.

Instead of going straight for the bat right then and there, I continued going to the right. She lunged forward trying to hit me with her shield, but I avoided it. _I knew it._

Grabbing her shoulder with my right hand, I activated my quirk. I put my left hand in between her and her items and swung it to the left while I pushed her away. She floated away while her items fell on the floor.

While she regained control of her body, I took the bat and threw it far out of bounds so that it couldn't be used again. I decided to keep the shield aa that would be difficult to counter.

Momo continued to look uncomfortable, as she tried to regain control of her mobility. It was no use, as my quirk made it hard not to float. I tried to ram into her with the shield, but she grabbed onto it and held it to stay in close proximity.

She floated upwards, and let go of one hand on the shield to punch me hard in the face. I fell backwards, still holding the shield. I accidentally let go of her with my quirk now that I was distracted by the punch.

We were now in a tug of war for the shield, which I let her win, because I knew it would be fruitless as she was stronger than me anyways. She then recreated her bat and started over.

 _Drat, I'm back to where I started. How can I get her out of bounds?_ She lunged towards me again, and this time she smacked me with the bat, then rammed me over with the shield.

When I fell, she tried to finish me off with the bat, but then I caught it and removed its gravity. She pulled back and accidentally let it slip out of her hand.

I released it and caught it with my right hand. _Now we're getting somewhere._ I rushed towards her and went on a bashing spree. Not to hit her, but to put her under pressure.

I slammed multiple times on her shield, and she finally decided to try and retaliate with a punch. I caught her hand, but something red fell out. _What the?!_

Suddenly, I was blinded, and then pushed back. I tried to fight back, but had no clue where I was. Suddenly, I regained sight and was knocked over. _Oh no, her flashbangs! How did I let that slip my mind!_

I was right up to the boundary, and she grabbed my wrists and tried to push me out, dropping her shield. _I can't let it end like this!_ I tried pushing back with all of my might, but I couldn't win over this physical battle.

 _And I can't use my quirk as easily either! Not only am I under pressure, but she's not directly touching my hands! What can I do!_

I was pushed back. Inches, now centimeters from the boundary. Now my heels were directly on the boundary.

I started to tear up and fought harder. _Think, think, THINK! What should I do? How can I do this? What would Deku do? ANYTHING!_

Suddenly, a vision of Deku appeared in my mind. "All Might once told me... a hero can always break out of a tough spot! And that further encourages me never to give up!"

I opened my eyes and found unforeseen strength in me. I slammed my wrists down, slamming Momo's hands onto the ground. I bent my hands onto her wrists, reversing the scenario.

I then gripped them tightly and lifted her above and behind my head, activating my quirk. She flew behind me, floating. _Release!_

I heard a thud, followed by a groan of pain. "Ochaco Uraraka just squeezes by with a turnaround throw out of bounds! Uraraka advances to Losers Semifinals to face Midoriya, and will fight against Class 1-B tomorrow!"

I turned around to see Momo on her knees. "Momo! Did I drop you too high?"

"No! Amazing turnaround, Uraraka! I didn't know you were that strong. You were really faking that struggle the whole time!"

"I... I wasn't... I found resolve somehow."

"What? You mean you found something mentally? What was it?"

I blushed and looked away. "All Might said that heroes can always break out of a tight spot... and... and Deku said that encourages him to never give in..."

"Oh, so it's him again? Well, if that's what works, it works." She stood up slowly and held out her hand. "Good game, that was great."

"Are you okay? Do you want me to talk to recovery girl or something? Or should I-"

"No, I'm fine. I just landed on my legs a bit hard. Beat them tomorrow!"

 **To be continued...**


	14. Day 11 (Part 3): First Tournament

**Day 11 of 21 - Part 3 (Final)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

When Momo got back to the class, she looked really exhausted and tired. "Did recovery girl come to you?"

"Yeah. My heel was a bit busted, but I'm fine."

I felt bad. "Geez, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you; I shouldn't have used my quirk."

"It's fine. I'm not going to be fighting today or tomorrow anyways, so it doesn't mean much."

Deku walked over to me. "You and Kacchan are the only ones who have injured somebody bad enough to need recovery in their fights so far. I hope that you can spare me." He winked at me and walked back to Iida. _I forgot, I have to fight him next... I'm screwed..._

 _I know I have the same advantage that I had over Kirishima in that my quirk removes his physical prowess, but I saw against Kaminari that he can use wind to his advantage._

 _Chances are that if I try to use my quirk on myself and he catches the pattern, I'll be blown out of bounds and lose the game._

 _So far, he outspeeds me, is stronger than me, and is around as good if not better of a tactician than I am. But I can still try and pull out the match, it'll just be hard._

Momo put her hand on my shoulder, sensing my worry. "You've got a solid chance. If you persevere the same way you did against Kirishima I can definitely see you winning."

"I know... but he basically has a watered down All Might quirk. I don't know how he could possibly lose to me!"

"Easy, girl. You'll find a way. You've done it before." _That's not specific enough for my tastes, but Momo has amazing sportsmanship for giving advice to someone who just beat them._

"You are a great friend, Momo."

"Good luck."

Deku was analyzing the match of Todoroki vs. Bakugo, as was most of everyone else in the lobby, because that was now the only match playing.

I walked over to Asui and sat near her for a while. I didn't really say much at first, though similar to Momo, she could tell I had something weird going on.

"You scared?"

"A little bit."

"Don't worry, he'll go easy on you."

"Are you sure?"

"Nah, I'm joking, ribbit. But you have a good chance of catching him off guard. For example, if he does a jump to go over you and you predict it, you can use your quirk and he'll fly out of control."

"Wow, that's specific advice! Thanks! How'd you know?"

"Well, with this quirk, most of my mobility is based around jumping and using my tongue. I also noticed that Midoriya tries to replicate Bakugo's movement, who moves similar to me but replace 'jump' with 'explosion'."

 _Most kids in U. A. are analysts. I'm surprised at this, honestly. The big ones in this class are Deku, Momo and Bakugo. Especially the top two. There are others who are just good at combat, but that's different._

"Todoroki gets blasted out of borders by Bakugo! Bakugo moves onto the Winners' Side of Grand Finals to face the winner of the Losers' Bracket! Ochaco Uraraka and Izuku Midoriya, please come up to play Losers' Semifinals!"

Asui told me good luck, and I went into the hallway along with Deku.

We walked alongside each other without really saying anythint. We were both so nervous and scared of each other that we didn't have much to say.

Around halfway to the preparation rooms, nobody was guiding the inside of the hallways and nobody was around. So I reached out my hand and grabbed his.

He looked shocked and he blushed. "Hey, good luck, Deku."

He squeezed my hand. "You too. Let's make this a good fight."

We held hands for the rest of the way there, until we got to the preparation rooms. Neither of us saw All Might until he saw us, and we immediately moved our hands back to our sides embarrassingly once he saw us.

"A-Ah!"

"Oh, hello, Young Uraraka! I just wanted to congratulate both of you for making the top 4 and facing the best of Class 1-B tomorrow! Good luck fighting both today and tomorrow!"

Deku smiled and shook his hand. I did the same. And then we went into our preparation rooms separately. This was my time to strategize.

 _Okay, so this all depends on how well I can predict Deku's movements. It's unfortunate that I have to try to beat him at his own game, but it's what's going to have to happen in order for me to win._

 _Okay, so if I don't catch him on time or make a big mistake, he'll just blow me out of bounds with his huge punch or knock me out of bounds himself. I best tread carefully._

 _And I saw his match against Kirishima. He beat him solidly, rather than I, who took some time to beat him. If Deku tries to throw the concrete blocks at me like in that match, my Zero Gravity would negate them. But I can't really use them too well against him like I did against Bakugo._

I sighed. _This is a really unfortunate match-up. At least I made strides in defeating two highly ranked players on the combat club rankings. And I'll also be able to fight tomorrow._

All Might came into my room to alert me it was time to go. "Good luck, Young Uraraka."

"Thanks, All Might. I'll do my best!" I smiled at him.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

"START FIGHTING IN 3...

2...

1...

GO!"

Here I am, fighting my own crush for top 3 in the first tournament I didn't expect to get top 4 in. She beat everyone, while I got in through a freebie against an injured Iida DQ'ing.

 _I have to prove myself here. Uraraka can't attack me; it's my job to make the first move._ I ran towards her, and leaped in the air to land with a smash.

I landed, smashing the ground, as she had dodged. Small pieces of concrete flew out from the ground, but not big enough to affect the terrain. Uraraka rushed in on me, trying to touch me.

I leaped back. _Once again, I can't get reckless._ I charged in again, this time trying to stay grounded. I swept her legs with a kick, picked her up by them, and tossed her to the boundary line.

She landed, stopping herself before she could roll out of bounds. I considered running towards her to finish it, but then I realized that's where she could have an opportunity to attack me and do a turnaround like both of us had done previously, so I backed off.

She hasn't been able to catch a breath so far, and I wanted to keep it that way. I rushed in once she got further into the battleground, and grabbed her leg to throw her out.

Before I managed to throw her, I saw her hand nearly touch me in the corner of my eye. _Shoot! I can't lose control of my own gravity!_ I aborted and jumped away. _There goes my momentum_.

I decided to try to dizzy her with my movement. I ran towards her and leaped over her to see her reaction. She lifted her arms to try and cover herself. _Defensive, huh?_

I then ran towards her on the ground, but ran past her. She tried to do an offensive counterhold, expecting a punch or a kick. _So she's not covering jumps, but she expects offensive attacks on the ground._

I continued to run circles around her until my legs started to get exhausted, when I lunged forwards with a punch that knocked her over. I landed it on behind, because she couldn't locate where I was.

 _I've been so dominant so far in this match, but Kirishima was before he lost as well. This is so annoying: it's just "don't get touched but you have to somehow get them out of bounds"._

 _Wait, I had that game against Kaminari and won through air blowing with my smashes. Maybe I can do that again._

I threw out a smash, blowing her nearer to the boundary lines. She retreated around me, realizing my plan. She went to the area where I had first smashed the ground.

I threw out another smash, but she hit the floor and grabbed onto the small impact crater I made with the ground smash. _Hm. She's utilizing terrain. Maybe I can go for an unexpected offensive attack?_

I jumped up and tried another ground smash, knowing she wouldn't cover it this time. But... she did.

She ran to my side, expecting my impact, and grabbed me midair, activating her quirk. She threw me behind her, which is a problem because she was so close to the boundary.

 _Shoot! I can't lose to this one throw! Kirishima and Momo already lost to a clutch play like this! How can I do this differently? What advantages do I have?_

Time moved slower for me as I floated closer and closer to the boundary. _I can't just lose after defeating her this whole game! Sorry, Ochaco, but I won't allow it!_

I ran my quirk through my arm, and it actually managed to increase in size and muscle mass like one of All Might's transformations.

I smashed in front of me in the air, creating a large cloud of wind pushing me back into the stadium. A large cloud of smoke from my arm due to the releasing of my arm's muscle expansion.

 _Great! Now I need to land, and now I can use the visual impairment to-_ I floated towards Uraraka, but I didn't see her until we were close because of the smoke.

I was floating upside down, about fourish feet off the ground. And I was facing Uraraka, so I would have bumped into her, but she grabbed my head.

I was assuming she was going to throw me, but my momentum wasn't stopped, so our faces ran into each others. Our lips accidentally made contact.

She looked shocked, but then held it for a slight moment. Her lips were trembling, but soft. I put my arms around her neck, but she realized she was in the battle, while I was still absorbed by the accidental kiss.

She threw me behind her back in the same direction as before, but I was still dazed and didn't react properly. "Release!" I heard her shout.

I landed on the ground, impacting it with my knees. It hurt, but it wasn't a major injury. "What's going on? We can't see a thing!" I heard All Might say over the stadium microphone.

The smoke cleared, and I looked at Uraraka. She was looking at me, and then she starting jumping up and down in excitement. _What the... oh shoot!_

I looked down to see myself out of bounds because I didn't move myself. "Ochaco Uraraka makes an INSANE turnaround after getting hit-and-runned by Izuku Midoriya the entire match and moves on to Losers' Finals! Congratulatuons to both fighters for making top 4!"

My jaw dropped. _I would be bummed out right now, but... what the..._

Uraraka ran out into the hallway on the way back to the lobby. I don't know if she was embarrassed because of the kiss, if she was excited to talk to Asui or Momo, or if she was afraid of my reaction.

I wanted to run after her and ask her what was going on, but I was so confused with my emotions that I had no idea what to do.

I was bummed that I lost, embarrassed that we kissed, scared that it might've been recorded, and happy that she accepted it. The combination just perplexed me.

I slowly started walking back to the lobby, but when I got there, I just stopped and took a deep breath. Something that I desperately wanted was closure. What status am I at with Uraraka?

 _We've kissed twice now. One of them was on accident which both of us allowed for a bit, and another I initiated which was rejected. And we've held hands at multiple points too. What exactly is going on?_

I continued to ponder these thoughts in my head. I realized that I was probably overanalyzing everything, and decided to get back up try to act natural. Todoroki passed me in the hall, and I gave him a thumbs up for good luck.

He had lost to Bakugo in Winners' Finals and was now going to see if he could win Losers' Finals to see if he could rematch Bakugo.

Next, I saw Uraraka. When I saw her, both of us stopped in our tracks. "Ah! Deku!"

"U-Uraraka!" We paused momentarily, looking off. "A-Are you going to fight Todoroki?"

"Yeah... I am..."

"Good luck!" I gave her a thumbs up with a violently vibrating arm.

"Thanks..." Uraraka was just as nervous as I was. We stood still, not really saying anything for a bit. _I-I'm so scared!_ "D-Deku..."

"Yes!?" I said nervously.

"I'm going to go..." She walked by me, and I didn't move. I listened to her continue to walk behind me. _I... want an answer so badly._

"Wait!" She hadn't turned the corner yet. We were about ten feet apart. She turned around.

"What's the matter?"

"Uraraka... I... I want to know something." She nodded her head, looking at me. "I-I want to be with you. I don't know what that thing in our match was about, or if you were just trying to distract me, b-but I like you! Honestly!"

She blushed furiously as she gasped. "I know that you've rejected me not even a week ago, but I feel like you've been doing things that don't... that don't really fit with that. I just want to know... do you think you'd..." _Ah... this is... so..._ I covered my face in embarrasment. "Would you ever c-consider-"

I was interrupted by an embrace from Uraraka. She had run over and hugged me, and I felt her body trembling. "I like you too..."

We held the hug for a while, just feeling each others emotions and fears being expelled through the embrace. She was taking deep breaths frantically, almost like she was still afraid.

I smelled her hair when I was trying to breathe myself. It had a faint scent of strawberries. I patted her back as we held eachother. "Ochaco Uraraka, please advance straight to the stadium. You have missed preparation time."

She let go and looked at me in the eye. "I'll talk to you about this soon. I-I don't want to leave you waiting."

"Okay. Good luck." She walked off, and I slowly turned around. _So... what happens next? We like each other. I know that much. But now I'm just confused as to what is going to occur soon._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Iida -

Midoriya had gotten back to class soon after Todoroki and Uraraka started fighting. Todoroki was keeping Uraraka out very well, per usual. But Izuku looked very off.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"D-Don't worry about it. It's not anything bad." I put my hand on his shoulder. _He's shaking..._

"Are you sure? Did something happen? Are you frustrated about lo-"

"No, Iida. I know people say 'I'm fine' all the time, but I promise to you that it's nothing bad." _I don't think he'd lie to me like that._

"Alright. Just talk to me if you need someone to talk to."

Uraraka had been doing better at evading Todoroki's fire than the game before. The first game they played, Uraraka had been forced out of bounds in a matter of seconds. This was a breath of fresh air.

"Todoroki cannot seem to get rid of Uraraka the way he could in their first match, as she is evading the fire with high zero gravity jumps!"

Todoroki chased Uraraka back and forth on the battlefield to no avail. Each time she leaped over him, he raised his fire higher. But he never quite got to her.

Eventually, it got high enough that it got to her shoe. He knew he was almost there. "Todoroki just barely grazes the gracefully moving Uraraka with his fire! She can't stay away forever!"

Despite this, Uraraka decided to try and jump over Todoroki once more. But this time, she went lower and released her quirk earlier.

Todoroki preemptively released his fire as high as possible with his left arm and shot it into the sky, missing Uraraka. She landed and kicked his hand over fiercely, knocking him to the ground.

"Uraraka predicts Todoroki's fire attack and gives him a swift punishment! What an amazing improvement from their last fight!"

Todoroki tried to get up, but was shoved back down by Uraraka, who activated her quirk on him and tossed him into the air. He floated away.

"Can Todoroki manage to stay in bounds without his gravity?" Todoroki released a burst of flame from his left hand, propelling him towards Uraraka, and slammed his right hand into her chest.

He used his ice quirk through his right hand, and froze her solid with the exception of her face. He was released and gained control of gravity after she couldn't hold him still.

"He answers that with a solid 'yes'! Todoroki freezes Uraraka and advances to face Bakugo again in Grand Finals!"

Todoroki melted the ice enveloping Uraraka, shook her hand and left the battlefield to the preparation rooms. Uraraka started to come back to the lobby.

"I'll be right back," said Midoriya. He went into the hallway. _Ah... so it's a thing with Uraraka. Maybe he's finally done something about it?_

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

I waited for Todoroki to pass me, and then waited for a bit. Then I started walking because I didn't want him to see how angry I was.

I started walking back to the lobby. The frustration I was feeling was ridiculous and I was about to blow up on any unsuspecting person.

I had almost made it back to the lobby when I saw Deku walking out. "Deku?" I tried to look natural.

"Hey, can we talk about... uh... are you okay?" I was so angry. But now, looking at him, I feel sad. It's not that I feel better, but my anger suddenly became sadness.

My lips started to tremble more than my body was the last time we were in the hallway. I started to walk away. "Ochaco! Please don't leave! I can help you!"

I slowly started to cry. "Ochaco! Are you okay?" Stopping in my tracks, I fell to my knees and covered my eyes. The sobbing had started, and Deku ran to me.

"Ochaco, tell me what the problem is." _I like it when he uses my first name..._ This was just like the sports festival when I lost to Bakugo.

"I... I l-lost twice to the same person... and I-I... I..." I couldn't really sum up what I was feeling. "I f-feel like I'm not doing justice... I barely beat everyone I've beaten... and.. I can't.. I can't..."

I was jumbling with my words so much that it embarrassed me further. Looking up, I saw Bakugo and Todoroki walking to their match.

They both looked a little startled to see Deku and I share a bit of a moment right here. Todoroki clenched his fist, producing a bit of fire, and walked more quickly out of the way.

"Well, shit. Hey, IcyHot! You think you're better than me? Is that what it is?"

Deku looked at me and ignored them running past us. "Go on."

"I... I'm losing to the same person twice... and I haven't been able to beat anyone convincingly. Todoroki destroyed me, Asui and Kirishima almost beat me, I injured Momo, and you only won because I kissed you by accident. I feel like a fake... I shouldn't move on to top 4 tomorrow."

I sniffled and wiped tears from my eyes, as Deku held me against him firmly. _Being so close to him, as shown twice today, really helps me a lot..._ He rubbed my back as we hugged each other.

"You've earned your spot, Uraraka. You've shown us all that you can make awe-inspiring plays with and without your quirk, such as with the strength you showed against Momo, and the flip you did against Kirishima. You have raw combat ability, that's what pushed you up."

"B-But what about you? I only won because you got distracted from an accidental kiss."

"And who's fault is that?" I looked up at him.

"Deku, I cheated you out of a rematch against Todoroki and a shot to fight Bakugo. That's my fault!"

"You can't just let me win. While you with of your strength, I made a lapse, resulting in my failure. You can't weigh yourself down for that. Regardless of how everyone else played, you played better. You deserve this more than anyone."

I looked down and cried a bit more. Deku held me close to him and pushed him away slightly. "I'm sorry, do you want to go watch the last match?"

"No, this is fine. I like this."


	15. Day 12 (Part 1): Bakugo vs Tetsutetsu

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!**

 **The last chapter took forever to write and dividing it into three blogs really triggered me. But it had to be done.**

 **Unfortunately it will have to be done again, as this next day is also a tournament. But it'll be the last day with a tournament. I promise.**

 **Screw The iPhone App**

 **I hope y'all enjoy!**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

 **Day 12 of 21 - Former**

 **Wednesday**

\- POV - Deku -

I walked into the same lobby that we fought in yesterday under command of All Might. Seven other students were in the room. The rest were in another lobby with screens to watch us play.

The people in the room were Class 1-A's top four (1. Todoroki, 2. Bakugo, 3. Uraraka and 4. Me), and Class 1-B's top four (1. Tetsutetsu, 2. Kendo, 3. Shiozaki, 4. Monoma).

"Geez, took you long enough, Deku." said Uraraka when I got in. I sat down at Class 1-A's table next to her. It felt strange sitting down at the table and not being able to sit next to Iida as well.

Mr. Aizawa walked in and gave us a brief comparison of how things would happen. "The committee had trouble deciding who was ranked where since the teachers only watched their own classrooms, so the matches are a bit different."

 _Here comes a big change..._ "Each student will fight someone from the other team to prevent rematches, but it will be randomized. It is not seeded because our committee hasn't watched both sides play and cannot decide. We apologize for the inconvenience."

Todoroki raised his hand. "Yes, Todoroki?"

"Will this tournament section affect our grade?"

"No. All of you have 100% in this test for making it this far. It will affect the result of the Combat Club rankings, however. Is that all for questions?" No hands were raised afterwards. "Good. Monoma and Midoriya, you guys are the first match."

I looked over at him, and he looked extremely disheartened. "I... b-but I-"

"Do you have a problem?"

"I-I surrender the match! Midoriya wins!"

Everyone gasped. _Now that I think about it, I'm not surprised. My quirk takes a lot of muscle and experience to handle properly. If he were to copy me, he'd hurt himself. He must've noticed._

 _It's still unfortunate that this had to be the first match._ "Monoma, keep in mind that this is a SINGLE elimination bracket. Are you sure?"

There was a pause. Monoma cursed to himself. "Y-Yes..."

"Alright. Then Midoriya moves on automatically the next match is Bakugo vs. Tetsutetsu. Unless there are any objections, please come to the stadium."

Nobody said anything and they walked to the stadium. The screen displayed the game, and Present Mic was announcing. "Monoma is first out of the tournament at fifth place by his own decision! Midoriya moves on! And now to the first actual match: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu vs. Katsuki Bakugo!"

 _This match is similar to how Kirishima would fight Bakugo. Let's see how this is going down._ Monoma slammed on the table we were at, startling me.

"You lucky bastard. If we had a fair fight I would win."

Uraraka stood up to my defense before I could mutter a word. "Why isn't it a fair fight?" There was an awkward pause. Uraraka looked infuriated.

"That lucky bastard has a quirk that-"

"I dare you! Fight him right now! Copy his quirk and use it against him! See how that works for you. If you lose, boo hoo. Because you were born with SUCH a bad quirk that you have to bitch about someone else's!"

Monoma looked stumped. He hesitated, then sat back down. _Geez, Ochaco._ I placed my hand on her shoulder and pushed her back into her seat. I whispered in her ear. "Uraraka, chill out. I could've done the same thing. You've just made things a bit more obvious to them."

"S-Sorry..."

"THE MATCH STARTS IN 3...

2...

1...

START!"

 _Alright, let's focus back on the match._

Tetsutetsu was already solid enough that he didn't need to prepare his quirk, so he slowly started walking in on Bakugo. _This match seems surprisingly even to me. The underlying idea being: "Kacchan, good luck getting him out." and "Tetsutetsu, good luck catching up to him."_

Kacchan propelled himself away in midair to keep himself safe from any melee attempts from Tetsutetsu, and continued retreated around. Tetsutetsu eventually stop giving Kacchan chase. He was clearly slower, so I didn't see the point in chasing him anyways.

Kacchan suddenly turned around when he looked like he was going to retreat and blasted directly into his opponents' chest. It was a good fake out, and we didn't see the outcome because of how big the explosion was.

"Bakugo makes a huge fake out into a strong assault on Tetsutetsu's defensive core!"

The smoke cleared, and we saw Tetsutetsu slowly getting up from the floor about five feet backwards. _W-Wait... WHAT?! That only did that much? That's barely anything!_

Kacchan looked shocked, and muttered something quietly. He probably swore to himself. _Tetsutetsu wasn't even ready for that and he still made it out without a scratch on him._

It was now clear that this was probably going to be a slower paced game. Kacchan had the speed advantage and Tetsutetsu had the strength advantage. Or at least that's what I thought.

Kacchan seemed eager to end it then and there. He leaped towards his enemy unscathed and threw out a barrage of explosions with both of his hands, completely obscuring the view of his perspective, until he suddenly stopped throwing them out.

I was about to wonder why until the smoke cleared and Tetsutetsu had grabbed ahold of one of Kacchan's arms. _This happened because he was too predictable. He let anger get control of him._

Tetsutetsu lifted Kacchan into the air before smashing him onto the ground, backfirst. Kacchan screamed out in pain. He immediately retaliated with a even bigger explosion that bursted Tetsutetsu back about thrice the distance, but in a different angle, so he was still a ways from the boundary.

Kacchan was still sitting after the explosion, and he didn't try to stand up. When the camera looked to behind where he was sitting upright, I saw a big crack in the ground that was impacted. _Holy smokes! He must have broken something if that broke the concrete floor!_

After a while, Aizawa came in over the microphone to the contestants. "Bakugo, if you are immobilized, you automatically lose the match. Can you move?" He tried to get up, but when he stood, he clenched his back, wincing at the pain.

He started to run towards Tetsutetsu but immediately fell forwards onto his arms, yelling out. The pain looked horrible. I saw tears starting to well up, but he looked way more pissed than he looked sad.

"I... I give up..." he said, falling onto the floor in front of him. _I never thought I would hear him say that, but his back is probably broken. That was an intense smash._

"Bakugo surrenders, and ties with Monoma for 5th place. Tetsutetsu moves on, defeating #2 in Class 1-A." Recovery Girl and one other person came and took Bakugo on a stretcher.

"D-Do you think he's okay?" Uraraka looked shaken.

"Yeah. Recovery Girl has cured me of worse injuries before, so I really don't think this will be irreversible or cause permanent damage." _I'm still shocked Tetsutetsu finished that in one slam..._

Monoma smirked, but I glared at him and shook my head 'no', and he stopped. Ochaco looked really worried. I put my hand on her thigh under the table after making sure nobody was looking.

 _She defeated Kirishima... but that game made Tetsutetsu look absolutely ruthless. Ochaco knows that one mistake could lead her into the same fate._

 _Speaking of Kirishima, I wonder if my strategy would be as effective if I did it on Tetsutetsu. Kacchan hasn't told him about it and I'm sure nobody else in our team would "betray" me._

Todoroki was called next to play against Shiozaki, but the match wasn't notable at all. It was quite possibly the worst matchup for her, since her plant hair didn't work as a shield, like it did against Kaminari's electricity, against Todoroki's fire.

It instead gave his fire more fuel to burn, literally making her quirk useless as Todoroki had the mobility to avoid the burning obstacle, while Shiozaki did not. 

He won the match after about a minute and a half of her hopelessly trying to escape her burning vines by doing the only thing she could do: putting out more vines. This inevitably resulted in Todoroki's win.

Kendo and Uraraka were the only players left to play the first round. This was the only match that didn't end as quickly as the others. My match didn't even happen, Shiozaki got hard countered, and Kacchan got punished hard.

I wished her good luck before she left, and I got prepared to watch the match. Todoroki came and sat down by me. "You know, these matches are going by quickly."

"Yeah. I'm lucky my quirk requires a lot of physical prowess, otherwise Monoma would actually have a chance putting up a fight without hurting himself."

"The match-ups are honestly a bit stupid. I wish that the teachers would've looked into this more."

"Yeah. And it's even worse considering it is now single elimination." I was distracted by hearing Present Mic's counting. "I'm gonna watch this match. This looks like it might be the only close-ish match-up aside from Tetsutetsy and Kacchan."

"FIGHT!"

Uraraka immediately ran in and started closing the gap between her and her opponent, Kendo. _Not a bad idea. Kendo's large body will be able to efficiently keep Uraraka out and push her out of bounds if she can't activate her quirk._

"Uraraka doesn't hesitate for a moment before beginning a rush in!"

Kendo edged away from Uraraka as she got closer, and she prepared to do a lunge forward to land her quirk. But before it happened, she jumped back. It was a fake attempt.

Kendo had preemptively blew up her hand in order to hit Uraraka by the expansion in size, but she missed due to Uraraka attempting to bait her out. _Perfect. Now Kendo has revealed one of the cards in her deck. If Uraraka reads one pick of those cards, she wins._

"Uraraka starts the match with a fake-out! No punish came off of it however!"

Uraraka started stepping back, and this time Kendo was on the offensive. Unfortunately, Ochaco has to intentionally focus to utilize her quirk. She can't just make it so anything that touches her will lose gravity. She needs to know around when and where the contact will happen.

Kendo ran forward and swung her right arm a slight distance away from Uraraka, as if she were going to expand her arm. Uraraka motioned her hands forward to catch it and use her quirk. _That would've been a trade off. Kendo would've landed a hit and Ochaco would've landed her quirk. But this time, Uraraka was the one getting predicted._

Uraraka, not expecting to miss, fell on her knees after her lunge forward ended fruitlessly. Kendo then expanded her hand and swung back the other way, knocking her away. _Oh, geez... that looked like it hurt._

"But Kendo lands a strong hit on Uraraka, almost hitting her out of bounds!"

Kendo rushed in on Uraraka, increasing the size of both of her hands and reaching them around Uraraka's left and right, cornering her at the boundaries. It was a stalemate. Whichever one read the move got a strong reward, though Kendo was more favorable.

Uraraka turned around and initiated a flip, and using her quirk on herself, floated above the opponent. Uraraka tried to grab Kendo and use her quirk in her from above, but she ducked to avoid her.

She quickly got back up and swung in her direction. Uraraka was a ways away, but still airborne. As she released her quirk, the swat created a gust of wind that blew Uraraka to the other horizontal boundary.

"There's one of the flips we've been seeing again and again! First from Midoriya, and then from Uraraka!"

Kendo sprinted towards Uraraka again and pulled back her arm, increasing the size of her hand. She was preparing for a push. 

"But Kendo isn't having any of it! She wants this to end right now!"

Uraraka couldn't take a trade. She would have landed her quirk at the cost of going out of bounds. And it all seemed like it was going too fast for her to dodge. The wind produced would probably push her back. She had no choice but to completely jump over the push and avoid all force completely to stay in bounds.

This was exactly Kendo's trap, however. Instead of pushing it forward like Ochaco expected, she raised her hand and slammed it down onto the ground. It missed Uraraka, but it blew her out of the stadium.

"And Kendo gets another excellent read and wins the match! Itsuka Kendo forces Ochaco Uraraka out of bounds and moves on to the next round! Uraraka finishes 5th along with Bakugo, Monoma and Shiozaki!"

 _Man, she was on fire yesterday. That looked like a less physical and more careful version of her match against Kirishima, but the outcome wasn't in her favor._

The matches so far all ended pretty quickly. My match didn't even happen at all, and Monoma didn't have a chance to fight me. Lucky me, I guess.

I feel bad for everyone who lost. Normally, I wouldn't feel bad for Kacchan, as I feel the match-up wasn't terrible. But the injury he had gotten from the match looked terrible.

In fact... where is he? I haven't seen Kacchan since he got wheeled out on a stretcher from the match? Is he... permanently injured?

The door opened. "Uraraka!"

It wasn't Ochaco. It was Kacchan, slowly walking in. He looked as angry as ever, but didn't try to blow anybody up. A tad unusual if you ask me. He looked tired, however.

"Round face isn't here, Deku. She just lost."

"O-Oh. Yeah, I know. Kacchan, are you okay?"

He clenched his teeth angrily. "I don't need you worrying about me, Deku! Do you think you're better than me because I had to face an actual opponent and you got a bye? Is that what this is?!"

"No, no! You looked like you were hurt-" Kacchan fast walked towards me.

"You better watch out, Deku! Next time we fight, I'm going to blow your sorry ass to the moon!" He grabbed my shirt by collar, and I shoved him away.

"S-Stop it, Kacchan!" He fell down onto the ground, landing on his butt. It didn't look like he was hurt, but he was tired enough that he couldn't exert dominance as he could normally.

He got up, scoffed, and went to sit down.

 **To be continued...**


	16. Day 12 (Part 2): Deku vs Tetsutetsu

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here!**

 **I apologize for the THREE MONTH absence with no wording whatsoever. I have a lot of schoolwork and I don't think I can afford to write as much as I used to, but I can manage.**

 **I won't do it if it hurts me academically. I never really have, but my habit of staying up too late was sort of getting to me. But I'm back now and I'm not being dumb anymore, so yay!**

 **Hopefully I'll do better now. I'm in literature class this semester so maybe I'll learn some stuff, idk.**

 **Screw The iPhone App**

 **Enjoy!**

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

Day 12 of 21 - Latter

Wednesday

POV - Deku

Among those being tied for 5th place in the tournament, I never would have expected that it'd be Uraraka and Kacchan. They finished second and third in our class, so I have no idea how I, as fourth, can get anywhere.

This is especially stressful for me, because I'm going against Tetsutetsu next. The one who defeated arguably my second biggest idol. 

It still boggles my mind how Kacchan lost to someone besides Todoroki. Todoroki is understandable because he has possibly the best quirk besides my own (when mastered to All Might levels, of course). 

But to Tetsutetsu? Especially when Kacchan and Kirishima practice together and hang out constantly? That makes me afraid. I defeated Kirishima pretty easily, but is Tetsutetsu a differemt beast?

I started walking to my preparation room for the fight and saw Tetsutetsu outside. "Hey, are you still bogged down from your fight with Bakugo?"

"That fight actually didn't take much out of me. Though my teacher insisted that I see Recovery Girl. She recovered a tiny bit of damage, and it took virtually none of my stamina."

 _Oh gosh..._ "That's good to hear!" I laughed nervously. "Are you ready for a good fight?"

"I wanted to let you know that your little stone throwing strategy isn't going to work on me."

"W-What?" _I thought that Class 1-B had its own tournament that they were at? How'd he know?_

"I'm all for doing whatever it takes to defeat a villain, but staying back and pelting at your opponent in a tournament testing fighting skill is despicable. That's testing how well a quirk works around another; not actual fighting skill." _That's... bold... to say the least._

"I apologize for doing whatever it takes to win, but you clearly didn't restrain yourself or think about what happened to Kacchan! You can't preach to me about this!"

"Midoriya, I mean this with all due respect. I suffered through his assuaults and punished him upfront. You can't say you did that."

"What do you think about Todoroki's fighting style against me during the sports festival and against Shiozaki?"

"Against you, he did go up and defeated you up close. He even did that in the most recent Class 1-A tournament." _What the... do they have a mole?_ "And he didn't really have a choice against Shiozaki other than to not use his flames, which is an important asset of his kit. The fact that they got paired up against eachother is a shame."

"I strongly disagree with your antics, but you have a point." I was slowly getting more offended. _Calm down, Izuku. It doesn't matter. Just fight. He's not trying to hurt my feelings._

"Listen. I'm not saying you can't fight like that. You can fight in whatever way you desire. But know that when you fight me, I will force you to win in a way that requires mettle and hardship."

He held out his hand for a handshake, which I begrudgingly accepted. "I disagree with your standards regarding the competition, but thank you for trying to keep this from becoming personal."

"And also to you for not going off on me, like many others do when it comes to rational exchange of ideas. Let's have a good fight."

"Let's."

 _That... I disagree with that a lot. But he is at least respectful with his ideas._ That isn't a rare controversy in these kind of things at professional fighting tournaments.

Many people advocate for limited quirk usage in certain match-ups, or flat-out banning overall. Some people see quirks as unfair advantages. But I personally disagreed, even when I didn't have a power.

It's like a video game. Doing whatever it takes to win isn't curteous, but it's unreasonable to ban the urge to win or the pursuit of victory in a fair ruleset.

I entered my room and ran my quirk through my whole body, and focused on the foundation of my arms and legs. _If Tetsutetsu isn't bluffing, then I'll need to fight him up close. But he's a very defensive type._

 _Kacchan may not be an extremely defensive type either, but one who can possibly shatter someone's back with one slam is a force to be recokened with._

 _And Kacchan's blasts aren't really direct hits, rather, they have a radius of impact._ _Because my fighting is based off of punches and kicks, my concern isn't about hitting hard. It's about standing strong._

I thought back to when All Might was fighting the Noumu. 

_"You said it was shock absorption, not nullification! That means there's a limit to what he can take, right?"_

That's another question I had. _Is his quirk unlimited like Kacchan's? Is it self-sustainable or regenerative? Or does he need to consume foods like Momo or something like that? I don't have a clue!_

"Izuku Midoriya, please leave your room and prepare for battle." I heard Aizawa say to me over the intercom. _Let's do this._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Seeing Bakugo lose to Tetsutetsu and then having to fight the latter must have been pretty tremulous to Deku's state of mind. But Kirishima lost to him pretty convincingly, so I don't think the result will be different.

The two entered the battleground and started from a fair distance from each other. Present Mic counted off the battle.

"3..."

"2..."

"1..."

"FIGHT!"

Deku leaped forward with blazing speed, shoving Tetsutetsu as he started to run towards him. He wasn't expecting him to do that, so he got shoved back a great distance near the boundary.

"Midoriya bursts like a lightning bolt towards his opponent and gets in critical territory!"

Instead of capitalizing on the opportunity, Deku lept to the opposite side of the field and smashed the ground. _I was expecting him to use this strategy from the start, but I guess this could work out. Let's go, Deku!_

Deku smashed the ground near the boundary of the opposite side, creating a large piece of ground that was technically outside of the battleground, but reachable from the inside of it. He threw the humongous chunk of stone at Tetsutetsu.

Although it was larger than any stone thrown at Kirishima, Tetsutetsu boosted it up as it landed on him and it continued past him, falling outside of the borders.

 _Kirishima was only able to focus a ton of power into his arms. And by the stone had hit his arms for the first time, he didn't have time to readjust without being knocked over. Tetsutetsu was almost too ready for this for not seeing that fight._

Deku smashed the ground, doing the same thing to outside of the boundary on another side. He threw it at a more direct angle, and it slid across the ground roughly towards Tetsutetsu rather than the upward angle and landing atop the opponent idea he used usually.

He ran to the left and shoved it so it slid of the ground, leave a crooked scrape on the ground. _Tetsutetsu has this down to a science. Did he see Kirishima's fight?_

"Tetsutetsu repels two enormous chunks of debris and it looks like Midoriya will have to make a move!"

Deku looked stumped and afraid. I can tell he didn't want to fight. But Tetsutetsu was coming his way. "Face it, Midoriya. I'm not letting you win in the cheap way."

 _Uh... it's a strategy. I'm sorry he's trying to win. But I guess it is kind of cheap._

Deku started to make a run for Tetsutetsu and focused on his opponent. "It looks like some close-up combat is coming up!"

 _Deku... please don't suffer the same fate as Bakugo._

Deku focused a punch into Tetsutetsu's stomach, which he tried to catch with both hands, but he got knocked back about seven feet. Deku looked at his arm and shook it off. _That must have hurt a bit, though Tetsutetsu didn't look too phased._

It looks like Deku could easily push him back out of the boundaries, but it certainly might take a toll on his arm. And he's not hitting with his whole strength.

Deku ran forward for another punch, this time with Tetsutetsu full on blocking it instead of trying to counterhold it. It didn't do anything, and Tetsutetsu counterattacked with a leg sweep, knocking over Deku.

He picked up his legs and threw him to the left towards the boundary. "Swift block and punish by Tetsutetsu, but Midoriya will stay in bounds!" Deku would have lost if he had rolled over at all.

Tetsutetsu then tried to run forwards and shove Deku, but Deku sent a barrage of fists towards his aggressor. He blocked them all and tried to reach out for another grab, but Deku slightly hesitated before throwing out a final punch to Tetsutetsu's face.

He punched his nose head on, opting him to grab his face as a natural reaction to the pain. Deku then lifted his leg and kicked Tetsutetsu in a rising fashion up to his stomach. He went midair and landed on the ground, causing a small crack on the ground where he landed.

"Tetsutetsu is sent midair through a strong kick from Midoriya! It seems that his defense might not be enough!"

Deku rushed back into the middle ground where he had landed as he got up and threw out a smash. Tetsutetsu dodged quickly, reading the attack. He grabbed Deku's arm with his right, punched him with his left, and knocked him away with his right after letting go.

Deku held his arms to his ribs, walking backwards. Tetsutetsu rushed in, throwing out a strong punch. Deku caught it with one hand, pushing it back. Tetsutetsu did the same with his other hand, but Deku caught the other.

The two were in a pushing contest, which Deku eventually won. Tetsutetsu was shoved backwards and tripped over a scratch in the ground made by the earlier sliding debris.

 _Now's your chance, Deku! Get him!_ Tetsutetsu quickly got back up in anticipation, but lacking time to dodge, he blocked Deku's assaults. This time, he didn't let up with the punches.

The assaults kept on coming and coming, faster and faster, and seemingly stronger and stronger. I heard Deku's growling turn into shouting over the speaker system. "Midoriya is not letting up! Tetsutetsu can't hold him off forever!"

Deku slightly slowed down his punches, but whem he threw out his arm, it practically went lightspeed into Tetsutetsu's defenses. Tetsutetsu finally counterheld one of Deku's punches. _Uh oh!_

But before Tetsutetsu could make a move, Deku lifted his knee and kicked him. Hard. He flew back into the wall behind the boundary, making an impact crater on the wall above the door, which he then fell from.

"Midoriya moves on to finals after a RIDICULOUS read! What phonomenal strength to boot something so heavy so far with so much force!"

 _Holy crap! That was ridiculous! How did he do that so quickly!_ Todoroki saw my jaw drop. "Midoriya took advantage of his opponent dropping his guard."

"I mean, yeah. But how did he kick so quickly?"

"You see how his pants on his left leg were ripped after the kick but not before it?"

 _I... I didn't!_ "Really?"

"His pants ripped while he was still jabbing away at Tetsutetsu's arms. Midoriya anticipated that he would grab his hand and punished him for it."

"He... he did?"

"Yep."

"He's a genius... how does he think of that? I would've tried to punch Tetsutetsu's hips because he didn't cover them, but that gave him a much better opportunity!"

"To give you some credit, you certainly pulled of some crazy stuff yourself yesterday. Do you take after Midoriya at all?"

I turned to him and my face started to blush. "I... uh... yeah. I guess you could s-say that..."

"That's not a bad idea. Him and Bakugo are probably some of the combat geniuses in this class."

 _I take after Deku a lot... but I don't think Todoroki realizes that I want more than just to learn from him._

 _I kinda just want... him..._

My thoughts envisioned back to when I kissed Deku, and I turned away. "Y-Yeah! You're pretty good too!"

"Are you alright?"

"D-Don't look at me!"

 **(Transitional Thing Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

I ran over to Tetsutetsu. "Are you alright?"

He got up and put his hand on his back. "Ouch... you just gave me a taste of my own medicine."

"Good fight, man. You're a real toughie."

"Yeah. Why'd you even do that against Kirishima? You clearly didn't need to." He laughed heartily, but I couldn't help but feel like he was disappointed.

"I don't know." _Maybe I was just too afraid of breaking my arms. Even now they still hurt, although they don't look or feel completely broken._ "Do you need help up?"

He grabbed my hand and I pulled him up. He had released his iron form since falling from the wall. "My back will be fine. It's probably a bruise."

"Good to hear. See you in the next tournament." We shook hands as he left to go to Recovery Girl and I went to a separate recovery room.

I sat down on the bed and waited for Recovery Girl. I was actually ordered to by Mr. Aizawa. _I can't believe I did it. I defeated Tetsutetsu. I even defeated Kacchan in a sense, although it's not really a technical win. But I can say I defeated him at something for sure._

I looked down at my arms, which had veins bulging around my skin from the force of throwing those punches. It hurt a lot to do that, but definitely not as much as other punches have.

I wished that I could go and see Uraraka right now. My mind kept wandering off to her and how she would greet me as I walked back. _*sigh*... man. I really like her a lot. I wonder how much she likes me._

All Might came in, interrupting my train of thought. "GAH!"

"Young Midoriya, that was amazing! Did you learn how to control your quirk to a greater degree?"

I frowned. "Not necessarily, but I found a way to prevent my body from breaking on impact. I used my quirk within my very bones to strengthen them, and then hit with all my strength."

"Wow! Even I didn't ever think of doing that! I just had to let my body adjust."

"Wait, you d-don't do that?!" _Did he really always just have an incredibly strong frame that can handle One for All at the beginning?_

"No, I didn't. I had to let my body adjust to it for the most part." Our train of thought was interrupted again by Recovery Girl walking in.

"I'm done examing Tetsutetsu. Are you ready, Midoriya?"

"Yeah."

She primarly analyzed my arms and legs, but she took close look at my fingers too due to the previous injuries that I've had with them.

It always seemed to perplex her when she looked at those parts of my body, so I was starting to think I may have injured myself more than I realized and got scared.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Your arms and legs are fine for the most part. But there is still bruising, inflammation and pressure within your limbs, especially your arms. This is from all of the undue stress from the fight."

"Does that need to be healed?"

"It'll take a while to heal over time, but I'll get it over with now."

"But Recovery Girl, I thought that you wouldn't heal these kind of injuries anymore!" said All Might.

"The child controlled his power and didn't break anything. That's what I meant for the most part. I'll heal these more minor injuries."

"Thank you!" I said with a smile. Recovery Girl healed me, and I fell from exhaustion.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Uraraka -

Iida and I walked into the room at the end of the day to escort Deku back home. He hadn't attended any of his other classes that day because he was so tired. 

All Might told us about it. Apparently, when Deku was asked who he wanted to walk him home, he said Iida and I, which makes me feel bubbly when I think about it.

"Deku, you didn't seem too hurt. Why didn't you go to classes today?" asked Iida.

"I had to go to an infirmary and get my arms healed. They were really inflammed and bruised although they weren't really all that damaged."

"Why didn't you stop by and say hi first!" I said angrily.

"I'm sorry! Mr. Aizawa made me go to the infirmary."

"Pfft, whatever." I smiled. "The other matches got finished today. You'll be playing Todoroki tomorrow during the hero class, and if you're not knocked out for too long, you'll be fine for the rest of the day."

He sighed. "Great. Now I can't rest easy."

Iida laughed. "Aren't you tired, Izuku?"

"A little bit. I'll be able to sleep later tonight, though I'm not excited to fight #1 in our class tomorrow."

"I think that title is going to you by tomorrow." I said.

"I have to agree with her too, Midoriya. You've made some serious adaptions in that game and I feel like you can overpower some of Todoroki's mind tricks next game as well. You just have to think really hard."

"Thanks, guys."

"My room is here. See you two later!" said Iida. We waved and continued walking.

Deku walked very tiredly, but seemed more awake now that I told him that Todoroki won. He held his hand over his head.

"Uraraka... my eyes are getting droopy." I looked around to make sure nobody was watching and I grabbed his hand.

"You'll be at your room in a bit." We continued walking, and I wasn't blushing furiously while holding his hand like I used to.

 _I'm starting to get comfortable with this kind of thing. Deku doesn't seem phased either. Whatever this means, I'm not sure, because Deku might just be too tired._

We continued walking and I heard a slight noise from behind me. _Am I being watched?_ Deku didn't seem to notice it. I continued walking with Deku and I heard what I thought to be a "ribbit".

"Oh, come on, Tsu!" I turned around and Tsu was nowhere to be seen. _Huh?_

"Is everything alright, Ochaco?"

"Y-Yeah." We had made it to his room, and he was about to go inside.

"Where do you think I'll be on the next rankings? And what do you think they'll look like?"

"I'm not sure. The winner and loser of finals tomorrow is sure to be #1 and #2 of the freshman for sure, and I believe that regardless of you getting 4th in the class."

"Yeah. I think you'll be up there too."

"After losing to Kendo immediately after making it in? I don't know. I can't be too high."

"Oh, please. You beat me, which is a top 2 win assuming you're right. And you finished 3rd in the class while being double eliminated by 1st place. There's no way you'll drop too far if at all in the rankings."

"You really think so?"

Deku yawned. "Yeah..."

"Oh. I... I'd better go." _Should I..._

"Thanks for walking me back."

"No problem." I took a step forward and hesitated for a short moment. Deku just looked at me and smiled. I don't think he realized what I was soing until I did it. 

I stood up and lightly kissed his lips. It wasn't really much more than a peck, but his face went red pretty quickly. "You... you did a really good job today. Good luck tomorrow."

Our faces were both on fire still. "Y-Yeah. See you tomorrow."

He went and closed his door. I turned around and started walking back. _That was pretty different from the last time we kissed... but he didn't seem to reject it this time._

I think I might be in love with Deku. That thought is pretty obvious to me. But something made me feel sick to my stomach. I don't really want to be in love right now. I tried to push these feelings away and it's not working.

I want to stay focused...

 **To be continued...**

 **(A/N: FYI, the reason I had Deku unknown that Tetsutetsu had to consume iron for his quirk is because I'm assuming he didn't hear Tetsutetsu muttering "I should've eaten more iron!" at the UA Sports Festival. Which in my opinion, is a pretty safe assumption even with how much of an analyst he is.)**


	17. Day 13: Deku vs Todoroki 3

**Hey all, SomebodyWhoLovesThings here.**

 **Not much to say other than sorry for being spastic in update times. Not really much I can do about it other than start writing the sto-**

Day 13 of 21

Thursday

\- POV - Deku -

I woke up very startled that I was going to be fighting the person I had an 0-2 record against. _Interestingly, we_ _both had freebies getting here. Mine being against Monoma and his being against Shiozaki._

I didn't remember much about what had happened after the fight. I remember being healed by Recovery Girl, but not much after that. Heck, I don't even remember how I got home. _Was I really that exhausted? I mean, I tired out my arms during the fight, but I didn't break anything, did I?_

 _Then again, All Might did ask who I wanted to escort me home. Was there some other injury I wasn't even aware about? Was I just extremely tired? Well, Ochaco and Iida probably did take me to my ro-_

My thoughts were interrupted when I looked at the clock. It was five minutes until I had to be out of the door.

 _ACK! I NEED TO STOP MONOLOGUING!_ I packed my things and got ready in lightspeed, then quickly ran to class.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Todoroki -

Soon after my first class, I was pulled out to go to the stadium and fight Midoriya. He seemed to be confident and hopeful of the situation, which immediately let me know that this wasn't going to be an easy fight to win.

"Hey, Midoriya. Did you get healed by Recovery Girl yesterday? I saw you being escorted home by Iida and Ochaco." He seemed a tad surprised when I said the latter part of that statement.

"Yeah. I didn't get too injured and I don't remember them saying that any of my bones were broken. I guess I was just pooped. Maybe something else made me tired; I don't know."

 _Hmph. I do recall Midoriya clutching his chest during that match. Perhaps he may have broken some ribs? Maybe he didn't even feel it._ "I see. Are you prepared for our final match?"

He looked at me and raised his hand for a handshake which I readily accepted. "Yeah."

"Good luck."

"Good luck, Todoroki."

I went into my preparation room and started pondering out the fight.

 _If the battle goes anything like it did last time, I can't just allow him to break himself on my ice walls. He can control his quirk now more effectively than at the sports festival. I can't wear him down too much because I don't have a tough hitting move that comes out quick like Tetsutetsu or Bakugo._

 _I'm going to have to play him into a bad spot like I did with the last fight. That's just about the only way I can win. He's a close-up fighter and I'm a long-distance one. That's the primary sense of the match-up._

 _But then again, Midoriya showed us against Kirishima that he can play defensive if need be. I cannot physically repel large projectiles like boulders or stones with my strength. Could I use ice to push it away? Or would that break apart my ice and simply have the projectile crashing down on me?_

 _And for all I know he could run towards me and try to take me out in one sweep. I've seen him rush like the Flash to All Might's defense when the League of Villains attacked, so I get the idea that I haven't seen Midoriya at his full strength yet. Maybe I should start out with defense if he tries a deviation from his last strategy._

"Todoroki, the finals are about to start," Present Mic told me over the intercom.

 _I guess I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there. Good luck, Midoriya._

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

I saw All Might before this fight. He looked rather somber and frustrated for some reason. He greeted me with a feigned "everything is okay" face, but I didn't talk to him too long because I didn't want to disturb him.

There isn't really a reason to mention that before the battle, but now I have a tremulous feeling in my stomach that something bad is about to happen. Am I just nervous for the fight?

"3..."

 _Well, I guess I'll have to brush it off!_

"2..."

"1..."

"FIGHT!"

I lept towards Todoroki with as fast speed as I possibly could. He quickly shot up a vertical wall of ice to shield himself from any assaults I'd have on him. _I expected that this would happen._

Todoroki made one crucial mistake in his panic to defend, and that was covering all of his escape options. The wall of ice was wider than the boundaries and stretched outside, so he couldn't go around it.

But if I gave him time to think, he could blow through the whole thing using his fire like how he did at the end of our match at the sports festival.

I activated my quirk throughout my arm. "Detroit..."

"SMASH!"

I hit the center of ice wall, and it broke into pieces. The wall was a very thick structure between the two of us, as Todoroki probably expected me to go all out and try to finish him as quickly as possible. However, the wall did not fall over. It simply was cracked into many pieces.

"Midoriya breaks a large wall of ice, but he didn't hit it strong enough to push it over! It remains an obstacle!"

It wasn't until I shoved it over in the center when the landfall came. Todoroki's left and right options were now available as the falling ice had fallen sideways, opening up those options. 

But the center was an ongoing avalanche. He had to choose between a few choices: Stand still and get crushed, try to go through the center and get crushed, or go through the right or left side to the rest of the arena, and risk getting hit by me.

"Todoroki and Midoriya have seemed to create a large avalanche through their discourse! This will be a huge obstacle!"

 _I can't cover both sides at once! Not ony that, but if I try to shove him, he could use his fire to push me away! This is bad; I have to make a hard read here!_

 _Unless..._

I ran my quirk through my arms and lifted a hulking chunk of ice. Then I turned my body to the left side, activating One for All through my legs. _If this works out, this is going to be insane._

The ice blocks covered the ground, so Todoroki would have to go around one of the sides of the center to avoid the debris and over the ground to skate over the ice using his own ice to propel himself.

So I hurled the ice I was holding a more vertical angle. I then turned around and dashed to the right side, still with One for All running through my arms. _And now to cover the right side._

"One for All..."

I motioned my arms as if I were going to throw out a Hadouken. Or a Kamehameha Wave. But either way, if I got the effect I wanted, this would be insane.

"Full Cowling..."

"AIR BLAST!"

I shot out my arms in a 45 degree angle upwards to cover Todoroki if he went high, and just as I had hoped, a strong gust of wind blew violently in front of me.

It picked up ice from the ground and in the air, creating a violent blizzard-like wind at any gliding Todoroki that decided to come through on this side.

 _I did it. I have a new signature move! This was like All Might against the Sludge Villain!_

 _Wait... where's Todoroki!_

"Midoriya hits Todoroki with a HUGE projectile to knock him out of bounds! With violent damage done to the arena, Izuku Midoriya wins the tournament!"

I looked up to see the empty audience seats littered with ice that had been brought over by the wind I had created. _W-Whoops!_

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Iida -

I was dumbfounded at what I had seen. The battle lasted only for a short period of time, but they managed to trash the entire arena.

It took a while for me to explain to everyone else in the class what had happened. Only Momo, Bakugo and I had understood why Midoriya threw the ice ball AND created wind on the other side of the arena.

Todoroki had dug himself into an enormous hole by building up that ice wall, and Midoriya capitalized immensely well with his option coverage. But it's difficult for me to see how the power rankings next week are going to come out.

Personally, I'd rank Midoriya, Todoroki and Bakugo in that order. But Bakugo finished lower than expected. And Midoriya is only 1-2 against Todoroki plus he also lost to Ochaco. But then Todoroki lost to Bakugo AND Midoriya.

My thoughts kept running on into the topic until I saw Midoriya running in.

"Iida! I did it!" I gave him a high-five. I probably would have hugged him out of how proud I was, but I was a bit off for a certain reason.

"Congratulations, Midoriya! You might be #1 on the next power rankings!"

"Wait, where's Uraraka?" _And that's why I don't feel great._

"I... I don't know. The school always checks in with the students if they can't come to school, so I imagine that she's sick. But I haven't heard anything."

"Hmph." Midoriya frowned. "I was really hoping to see her."

I looked at Midoriya and smiled, which he immediately blushed in response to. "N-No, not like that! I... I just..." I wasn't sure if I was smiling to make fun of him or out of pride, but I was very impressed by his option coverage that match.

Midoriya and I went up to Mr. Aizawa and asked of the whereabouts of Uraraka, and he told me that she was sick. She apparently had mononucleosis.

I turned to look at Deku and he immediately smacked me. "Stop it, jerk!"

Most of the day progressed as normal after that, however. Midoriya and I had lunch together, and talked a lot about what we thought the power rankings would be.

I also had asked if he had legitimately kissed Uraraka and if that was why she was sick, to which he angrily yelled: "NO, CUT IT OUT!"

Later when I was in my math class (my last class of the day), Momo came up to me and started talking to me right before class was dismissed.

"Man, that match was exhilarating to watch, wasn't it?" she asked me.

"Yeah! I can't believe how far ahead those two are from the rest of us."

Momo looked pensively at me. "I feel that their quirks may be partially to blame, but Midoriya's reading of Todoroki and new move that he had conjured in the moment were insane."

"Absolutely. Considering Midoriya's previous pains with his quirk and Todoroki's regimented and principled schedule, it's safe to assume that both have worked hard to get where they were."

The bell rung, and we had to leave class.

"Ah, sorry Iida. I'll see you tomorrow!" Momo started to leave, but I wanted to ask her something.

"Wait a minute," I said. "Would you want to continue talking about this at some other point? Maybe this weekend?" She looked at me strangely, almost as if I had asked her an embarrassing question.

"That sounds great! I'll check and see if I have anything that needs to be done, but I don't know if I'll be available."

"Great!"

"I'm not doing anything this afternoon, however. You want to hang out right now?"

"I've actually got a thing I'm doing with Midoriya." I winked, and she immediately caught my drift and giggled to herself.

"Have those two finally hit it off yet?"

The teacher snapped at us and so we eventually scrammed, while I met up with Midoriya. Knowing that she was sick, we hung out for a bit. I helped him with his math, and then we went out.

We decided to go to a store and pick up flowers and chocolates for Uraraka. I had managed to convince him to actually ask her out on a real date, rather than just a "hang out" kind of thing.

Eventually, we were finished and we headed for Uraraka's dorm room to hopefully ask if she would be up for it once she got better.

 **(Transitional Thingy Lol)**

\- POV - Deku -

I nervously walked the way to Ochaco's room. Already shaking in my boots, I stopped in my tracks before Iida continued walking and pushed me forwards as if he was walking a lazy dog who suddenly decided to lay down.

"Gah! Why did I agree to do this!"

"Trust me. You'll be fine."

"What business do you have here, Young Midoriya?"

I looked up to see All Might in front of Uraraka's door. My face immediately brightened, and I instantly hid the flowers behind my back rapidly.

 _Him again?! Why now?!_

"A-All Might! Hi! Wha... What's up?"

"Do you need to talk to Uraraka about something important?"

I passed the flowers from behind me into Iida's hands. "No, no, no! W-Where would you get an idea like that?"

Iida put the flowers back in my hands. "Actually, he does." _Ack!_ "Is something the matter, All Might?"

"I expected that Midoriya would come here at some point. Honestly, I knew something fishy was going on between those two."

My face was now at the temperature of the sun's core. "WHAT?!"

~ Later in All Might's Office ~

"So, I see some intimacy has been going on between you two recently?"

"W-What?! No, no! Ochaco and I are just friends! She helps me with math and stuff. Nothing more, I swear!"

Iida, seeing as how I was as see-through as a clean glass pane, interrupted. "All Might, why did you call us into your office?"

He sat down with a frown on his face. Clearly something bad had happened.

I shot up immediately, thinking about probably the worst possible scenario. "Did the League of Villains kidnap her? What's going on?"

"Luckily, that's not the case. But unluckily, that's close." I choked when I heard that.

"So you're saying that Uraraka... has been kidnapped?!" exclaimed Iida.

"Y... Yes. It was by a group of quirkless men, who were able to overpower her last night."

 _And... I couldn't help her because I was so tired out... dammit! I don't even remember this happening. It could've been right in front of my eyes! How can I look at her agai-_

"Quirkless? So that means the school should be able to track them down!" said Iida optimistically.

"Yes. That's why we haven't said anything about it yet aside from trying not to cause a panic. U. A. is already facing many problems maintaining the trust of people, so we can't allow any more harm to our reputation."

I was a bit frustrated that he wasn't meandering as much on the topic of Uraraka, but it was a bunch of quirkless men, so I didn't stress it too much.

"All Might, how do you know that they were quirkless?" I asked.

"Well, Mr. Aizawa confronted them last night and tried to disable their quirks, but nothing happened. We got camera footage, but all that was left recorded was the men leaving after threatening the to kill Uraraka."

I was growing angrier by the second. _Ochaco... I'll find you soon..._

"So... you didn't get any camera footage of the kidnapping?" asked Iida.

"No. We're still looking into that."

I looked up at the ceiling, trying to control myself. "How did those... quirkless asshats get into this school in the middle of the afternoon with nobody noticing?"

"We have no idea. They don't have any combat based abilities, but they still managed to get into here."

"That might be it," noted Iida. "Maybe they had no combat abilities, which is why they'd need weapons. But one of them may have the ability to disable electricity, or turn off electronic devices. That could explain the funky behavior of the video cameras."

All Might's eyes lit up when Iida said that. "Did something get you about that?" I asked.

"There is one villain I know of with that power."

"Good," I said. "Start getting a lead on him so we can kick his butt."

"One question," said Iida. "Why did you tell us about this? If we know, why doesn't the student body know?"

All Might sighed. "Because you two know her well... and this part you can't tell anyone."

"What?"

"The school doesn't know either."


End file.
